Pocatello man charged with failure to register as a sex offender after becoming homeless

POCATELLO — A man who officers found to be homeless has been charged for failing to report his change of address with the sex offender registry.

Michael Bruce Corbridge, 30, faces a felony charge, court documents show.

Pocatello police received reports of Corbridge, a “homeless” “non-compliant sex offender” living on the railroad tracks in Pocatello on April 15, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

In searching the Idaho State Sex Offender Registry, an officer found that Corbridge had a listed address on McKinley Avenue. However, the affidavit says, he had failed to return his quarterly address verification and was thus “non-compliant” since Jan. 23.

Officers checked at the address listed in the registry to no avail on April 17.

They then searched an area of the train tracks near the address and found several furniture items that appeared to have been discarded. “It appeared someone hd been staying there,” the affidavit says of the furnished portion of tracks.

Officers returned the following day and were once again unable to find Corbridge, the affidavit says.

On April 20, Pocatello police received a trespassing call claiming Corbridge was trespassing at a business on the 1000 block of Yellowstone Avenue.

Upon arrival, officers found Corbridge laying on the sidewalk using a jacket as a blanket. The affidavit says he was using a hair dryer plugged into the business as a heater.

Officers woke Corbridge, noting that he appeared intoxicated.

When they told Corbridge he was listed as non-compliant on the sex offender registry, he was “confused,” according to the affidavit. He told the officers that he checked in with probation monthly. Officers informed Corbridge that probation and sex offender registration were different things.

Corbridge told the officers that he had been homeless since September, but was living in a “hut” near the residence, the affidavit says.

He was placed under arrest and taken to Bannock County Jail for booking. He was released the following day on his own recognizance with orders to remain in contact with court services.

Though Corbridge has been charged with this crime, it does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

If he is found guilty, Corbridge could face up to 10 years in prison.

He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing before magistrate judge Carol Tippi Jarman on May 15.