Agents find weapons at home
Stankowitz back in jail for violating his probation
By Glenn Smith
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Sex offender Jonathan Stankowitz, accused of raping a woman in his tow truck last week, is back behind bars after probation agents found a stun gun, a baton, an 8-inch dagger and other weapons at his North Charleston home, authorities said.
Probation agents discovered the items, along with a can of Mace, 33 rounds of ammunition and five other knives, during a search of Stankowitz's Firestone Road property on Friday, according to an arrest warrant. The search came a day after he was released from jail after posting $125,000 bail in the Charleston rape case.

Jonathan Stankowitz

Agents hauled Stankowitz, 34, back to the county detention center and charged him with violating the terms of his probation, which bar the two-time convicted sex offender from possessing weapons, according to the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. He remained in custody late Tuesday, with bail set at $100,000.

Stankowitz runs Coastal Towing out of his home, working as a solo truck operator who searches the Charleston area for business, authorities said. He also has worked as a "repo" man and a bounty hunter in the past, according to court documents. It remains unclear whether the weapons are somehow connected to one of his lines of work.

Stankowitz is accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman on Feb. 7 after offering to tow her car from a Meeting Street convenience store so she wouldn't have to drive after drinking, according to a police report. The woman told police she was attacked in the tow truck at a James Island shopping center.

Stankowitz is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct in that case. He also is charged with violating his probation by failing to notify his supervising agent of his arrest, failing to pay court-ordered supervision fees and failing to follow his agent's instructions, according to an arrest warrant.

Previous stories
Sex offender back in jail, published 02/10/10

'Intensive probation' loophole? published 02/12/10

Stankowitz was placed on "intensive probation" following his 2007 convictions for committing a lewd act on a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He pleaded guilty to fondling a 13-year-old girl and showing a pornographic movie to a 13-year-old boy, court records show.

Stankowitz had previously pleaded guilty in 2002 to peeping through the windows of a 32-year-old woman's home on Sarah Street in Charleston, state records show.

Intensive probation is the highest level of community supervision, requiring offenders to submit to weekly visits with their supervising agent, as well as frequent home visits.

On Friday, agents found a police-

style baton, a stun gun and a fixed-blade knife in a camper trailer on the property. Stankowitz acknowledged the weapons were his, as he did with a folding knife and Mace found in a his vehicle, according to an arrest warrant. He denied owning four more knives, a BB pistol and nearly three dozen rounds of .45-caliber ammunition found in the camper trailer and a separate trailer on the property, the warrant stated.

Reach Glenn Smith at 37-5556 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

'Intensive probation' loophole?
Officials: No criminal check required for sex offender to operate tow truck
By Glenn Smith
The Post and Courier
Friday, February 12, 2010
A twice-convicted sex offender accused of raping a woman in Charleston last weekend is a solo tow truck operator who trolls the city's streets looking for business while under "intensive probation," authorities said.

Jonathan Jason Stankowitz runs Coastal Towing and Recovery out of his North Charleston home, police said. But the operation apparently lacks a business license to operate in the city of Charleston and the surrounding county, according to city and county officials.

Jonathan Stankowitz

Law and Disorder

A look at South Carolina's broken probation and parole system - an occasional series from The Post and Courier

Stankowitz, 34, is accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman Sunday after offering to tow her car from a Meeting Street convenience store so she wouldn't have to drive after drinking, according to a police report. The woman told police she was attacked in the tow truck at a James Island shopping center.

Stankowitz is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct and violating the terms of his probation. He was released from the county jail Thursday after posting $125,000 bail, according to jail officials.

The victim's father said Thursday that she was battered and bruised in the assault and remains traumatized. He said his daughter had no clue Stankowitz was a registered sex offender when she accepted his offer of a ride.

South Carolina doesn't require criminal background checks for tow truck drivers, and sex offenders are free to work in that capacity, even if it puts them alone with vulnerable people in remote settings.

That doesn't sit well with Melonea Locklair Marek, executive director of People Against Rape. She said the lack of oversight could give predators the perfect cover to troll for victims, waiting for the right situation to arise.

"In my opinion, anyone in this type of position should be checked," she said.

Stankowitz's probation agent knew he worked as a tow truck driver, but that didn't raise red flags, said Pete O'Boyle, director of public information for the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

"We just can't exclude these guys from every possible employment that brings them in contact with even adults," he said.

State probation records show Stankowitz works for a towing company along the Grand Strand, and probation agents had been in contact with the company's owner, O'Boyle said. That same man, however, told The Post and Courier that Stankowitz is just a friend and has no connection whatsoever to his business.

Stankowitz pleaded guilty in 2002 to peeping through the windows of a 32-year-old woman's home on Sarah Street in Charleston, state records show. "This is an ongoing sequence of such behavior by this defendant with the victim and other neighbors," the arrest affidavit states.

Former Circuit Judge Victor Rawl placed Stankowitz on probation for a year and ordered him to get mental health counseling.

In 2005, Charleston police charged him with fondling a 13-year-old girl at his Risher Street home. He also was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for showing a pornographic video to a 13-year-old boy, an arrest affidavit shows. A booking sheet listed his profession at the time as "repo" man and bounty hunter.

Stankowitz pleaded guilty to the charges in 2007. Circuit Judge Markley Dennis ordered him to get counseling and placed him on five years probation for the delinquency charge and one count of committing a lewd act upon a minor, court records show.

Stankowitz was placed on the highest level of supervision, requiring weekly contact with his probation agent and frequent home visits, O'Boyle said. His file noted no problems up until his arrest Monday, he said.

Motorists are often at their most vulnerable when they are stranded and in need of help, AAA Carolinas Public Relations Manager Brendan Byrnes said. He suggested that people always call a friend or relative to explain what happened and get someone to come stay with them when possible to provide greater safety in numbers.

Byrnes suggested that stranded motorists call police for recommendations on a towing company. People also can call AAA Carolinas at 800-477-4222 for a recommendation, even if they are not AAA members. All AAA-approved towing companies have been screened, and they conduct criminal background checks on their employees, Byrnes said.

Reach Glenn Smith at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 937-5556.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/feb/17/agents-find-weapons-at-home/