Cedar Rapids, IA – U.S. Marshals today arrested an unregistered sex offender in Cedar Rapids. 

Ray Mandel Stevenson, 32, is charged with escape from custody after cutting his GPS bracelet and walking away from a halfway house in Burlington in late 2024. Stevenson is also a sex offender who was in a noncompliant status and was on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry’s Most Wanted List.

On May 14 U.S. Marshals in Davenport contacted U.S. Marshals in the Northern District of Iowa requesting assistance in the location and apprehension of Stevenson, as they believed he was in Cedar Rapids. Task force officers began to follow up on leads and developed information on Stevenson’s whereabouts.

Officers with the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force today narrowed their search to an area on the southeast side of Cedar Rapids. Shortly after 2 p.m., U.S. Marshals approached Thomas in the 4000 Block of 1st Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids. Stevenson was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Linn County Jail. Additional charges are pending.

The U.S. Marshals Service is the federal government’s primary agency for fugitive investigations. Nationwide, 60 local task forces are dedicated to violent crime reduction by locating and apprehending wanted criminals. These task forces also serve as the central point for agencies to share information on fugitive matters. The Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force is comprised of officers from the U.S. Marshals Service, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Waterloo Police Department, Marion Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Iowa Department of Corrections.