Man who failed to register as sex offender found in Gladewater

UPSHUR COUNTY – A jury found a 56-year-old man guilty of failure to register as sex offender, and sentenced him to life in prison on Wednesday as a habitual offender on account of his prior convictions.

On May 16, 1986, the Defendant was sentenced for Theft in the State of Illinois. On July 5, 1989, the Defendant pled guilty to Criminal Trespass of Habitation in the State of Illinois.

On June 11, 1998, he was sentenced for Aggravated Sexual Assault (Adult Woman), Felony Escape, Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault with Deadly Weapon (Knife),and Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child nine years of age in the State of Illinois.

On March 18, 2008, the Defendant was sentenced for Failure to Register as Sex Offender in the State of Illinois, and despite his criminal history, Stivers was given two years of probation. In September of 2020, the Defendant was again sentenced for Failure to Register as Sex Offender in the State of Florida, and sentenced to two years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Attorney General’s Fugitive Task Force and the United Sates Marshal with Stivers being arrested by the Gulf Coast Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force.

In 2023, Ronald Wayne Stivers of Illinois was a registered sex offender in Mississippi before he fled the state and moved in with a woman in Gladewater, Texas, according to officials. Stivers reportedly met the woman through Facebook, and alternated his identity by lying about his name and changing his license plate.

Once his true identity was uncovered, the woman forced Stivers out of her home and he was later arrested on June 17, 2024. Officials said Stivers was sentenced to life in prison on June 11, 2025 as a habitual offender with his prior convictions playing a role in his sentencing.