Los Angeles News

SANTA ANA, Calif. (CBS) ― A convicted sex offender suspected in the disappearance of a Rancho Santa Margarita college student is free on $5,000 bail Wednesday after being arrested in Florida on suspicion of stealing DVDs, authorities said.

The arrest of John Steven Burgess, 35, in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday is a continuation of legal problems for Burgess, who also was arrested in Florida in July on suspicion of possessing crack cocaine.

Donna Jou, 19, was last seen with Burgess on June 23. Burgess, who sometimes uses the nickname Sinjin, has been named a suspect in the disappearance of the pre-med college student, but has not been charged in the case, said Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

In Los Angeles, Burgess is free on $250,000 bail on a charge of failing to register as a sex offender and is due in court on Oct. 10 on (hat charge.

After Jou disappeared, Burgess -- named in an arrest warrant on the registration charge and sought for questioning in Jou's disappearance -- went to Florida, where he reportedly has family.

On July 24, he was arrested on a cocaine-possession charge to which he pleaded guilty, was sentenced to time served and extradited to Los Angeles on the failure to register charge. A judge set bail at $250,000, and Burgess was able to bail out pending the Oct. 10 hearing.

Amormino said he did not know the terms of Burgess' bail release and whether he was barred from traveling out of the district.

Burgess' attorney, George Bird Jr., could not be reached for comment.

Officer C. Brunson at the Jacksonville County Jail said Burgess posted $5,000 bail last Friday in connection with the arrest on suspicion of petty theft and a license violation, which are misdemeanors.

He was ordered to appear in court on Oct. 17 in connection with that case, Brunson said.

Meanwhile, Jou's parents, along with attorney Gloria Allred and friends of the girl, took part in a demonstration outside the Los Angeles Airport Branch courthouse, where Burgess had been scheduled to appear earlier this month for a pretrial hearing on the registration charge.

The family wanted to give Burgess a letter, urging him to answer questions about their daughter.

Jou was last seen June 23 as she rode away on the back of Burgess' motorcycle. She was later seen at Burgess' Westside home at a party, authorities have said.

Investigators said Jou met Burgess through craigslist.com, adding that Burgess used another man's photo on the Web site.

In 2002, Burgess was convicted of three counts of battery and, the next year, he was convicted of performing a lewd act against a child. He was sentenced to 146 days in jail, placed on three years' probation and required to register as a sex offender.

Shortly after Jou's disappearance, Los Angeles police found an abandoned tool box from Stevens' truck about 1 1/2 miles from Burgess' rented home in Palms. The tool box contained a motorcycle helmet, a personalized license plate
-- SINJIN1 -- as well as rope, a pair of gloves and a scrub brush, authorities said.

Jou was taking summer classes at Rancho Santiato Community College in Orange when she disappeared. At San Diego State, she is an honors student with a 4.0 grade-point average. Her family, however, has said she isn't streetwise.

Jou swapped notes via the Internet with Burgess for about a month before meeting him in person, investigators said. Jou's family has offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to her safe return.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)