WEST SENECA, N.Y. -- A Kokomo man wanted on multiple child molesting felony charges was arrested by police in the town of West Seneca, New York Tuesday.
On July 30, an officer with the West Seneca Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a Ford F350 pulling a trailer with a children's carnival ride that was driving on I90 westbound for multiple violations, including a cracked windshield and a passenger not wearing a seatbelt.
WSPD said the driver was unable to provide a driver's license while informing the officer that they were traveling to the Erie County Fairgrounds. The driver produced his carnival company ride operator ID card instead, which displayed the name "James Davis."
After this interaction, the officer instructed the driver to pull into an off-site DOT inspection station where the driver provided the officer with an incorrect birthdate, according to WSPD.
The officer soon identified the driver as Michael Wayne Gordon of Kokomo. Police also learned that Gordon had multiple active arrest warrants for two level 1 felony counts of child molesting and a level 5 felony count of failure to register as a sex offender.
WSPD said Gordon was previously convicted of child molestation in 1994 before he was convicted again of the same crime four years later, meaning he was required to register as a sex offender. He was again convicted in 2004 for failure to register as a sex offender.
Another child molesting case was filed against Gordon in 2021 in Miami County, according to WSPD. He failed to show up for a hearing in 2023, leading a judge to issue an arrest warrant.
Gordon was detained and brought to the Erie County Holding Center where he is currently waiting to be extradited to Indiana for those pending charges. He was also cited for multiple vehicle violations.
WSPD said officers also determined that Gordon was not an employee of the Erie County Fair and was instead employed as an independent contractor to bring the carnival ride to the county fair.
The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation.