[05/28/03] The Monroe man jailed in Vicksburg Sunday after being accused of attempting to molest children at Wal-Mart was free only to await formal sentencing on a multitude of previous charges, police said.

Bond has been increased from $10,000 for Steven Lynn Kinney, 43, after authorities in Nevada also placed a hold on him.

Vicksburg Police said he is accused of writing illicit notes to solicit children in the area for sex. A relative who asked to remain anonymous said that’s his usual pattern and busy stores are where he has been nabbed before.

Sources said Kinney was based in Las Vegas as a federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent when arrested last year. He was convicted of similar molestation-related charges in federal and state courts, in February and March, a Las Vegas newspaper reported today.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Vicksburg Police Capt. Mark Culbertson said this morning. Even if Kinney posted his $50,000 local bond, the detainer issued by federal authorities in Las Vegas would keep him jailed.

Local and area authorities are also investigating Kinney for “an incident that occurred (in Vicksburg) in March” of this year, as well as a similar situation that occurred in Clinton, also earlier this year, Culbertson said.

Kinney pleaded guilty in Nevada state court in February to 14 felony counts of solicitation and one gross misdemeanor, for which he had negotiated to receive a prison sentence of no more than 12 years, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported today. He also pleaded guilty in Las Vegas federal court in March to one count of coercion and enticement, a felony for which he expected to receive three years, also under a plea bargain, the newspaper added.

He was apparently free and living in Louisiana pending the start of his sentence. Reports were he had family members in Monroe.

The family member who talked with The Vicksburg Post said Kinney ties notes around rocks and tosses them to young boys, asking if they want to make money or to call a phone number. “Sometimes, he’s bold enough just to write that he’s seeking oral sex,” the family member said.

In the federal case, a 21-page indictment was made public in May, 2002, the Las Vegas Sun reported then. It accused Kinney of 66 counts of attempted sexual assault, attempted statutory sexual seductions, attempted lewdness and solicitation of a minor to engage in acts constituting an infamous crime against nature, the paper reported.

Kinney was first arrested in March 2002, on charges stemming from interviews with at least 15 Las Vegas Valley boys who said they were approached by a man who tossed rocks at them with attached notes, the Review-Journal reported.

“Each of the notes reportedly asked the boys if they would submit to a sex act for between $20 and $50,” the Sun reported.

Kinney is charged locally with three counts of attempted molestation and possession of counterfeit money, Culbertson said.

The attempted molestation charges are reportedly for approaching three children under 16. He is also charged with possessing counterfeit $20 bills, Culbertson confirmed.

While free on bond on Nevada state charges in June 2002, Las Vegas police reportedly charged Kinney with violating a protective order issued in a Nevada Family Court and prosecutors tried, unsuccessfully, to have his bond revoked. The order was to prevent Kinney’s contacting his ex-wife or returning to their former home in Las Vegas.