Authorities check on sex offenders in Wake, Cumberland counties

As a result of "Operation Carolina Shield," which involved the work of about 90 law enforcement officers from the four agencies, four registered sex offenders were arrested on various charges.

Marlowe Garcia Lumpkin, 49, was charged in Willard with failure to register as a sex offender. He had been wanted by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office since October 2011. 

Christopher Michael Zdap, 28, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Michael Bryant Parker, 35, was charged with a probation violation, and Lonnie Earsell Frederick, 46, was charged with failure to appear in Alamance County. 

The effort coincided with a large-scale operation conducted across North and South Carolina this week. In the Middle District of North Carolina, authorities made more than 500 compliance checks in Chatham, Durham, Lee and Orange counties. 

Officers made five arrests related to those checks and seized a significant amount of child pornography from one registrant's residence, authorities said. 

“Operation Carolina Shield has sent a loud and clear message to the sex offenders throughout Eastern North Carolina”, said Scott J. Parker, U.S. marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

“That message is that the United States Marshals Service, working alongside other federal, state and local law enforcement partners, will utilize all available resources and work tirelessly to ensure that our communities and the children of our communities are safe from sex offenders.”

Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said the number of arrests prove that Operation Carolina Shield is working. 

"They never know when we are coming, so they are staying in compliance," he said. "I'm very proud of the help that we've had."