RANKIN COUNTY — A registered sex offender who authorities say had absconded was arrested Friday after investigators received a tip from Central Mississippi Crime Stoppers that he was living at an unreported address in Rankin County.
Investigators with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department said they received information Feb. 27 that Phillip Marvin Winter, a registered sex offender, had absconded and was residing at an unknown location within the county.
After further investigation, deputies confirmed Winter was living at a residence in the Plantation Shore subdivision along Highway 49 south of Florence.
Authorities said Winter was originally ordered to register as a sex offender after pleading guilty to statutory rape in 2008. He was later convicted in 2021 of failure to register as a sex offender.
Following his arrest, Winter was transported to the Rankin County Adult Detention Center, where he is being held on a $5,000 bond pending his initial appearance before David Morrow Jr..
No additional information was immediately released.
