Two Wanted Sex Offenders in Texas Captured in Less Than 48 Hours

Following heavy Spring break traffic, two wanted fugitives charged with multiple sex-related offenses towards children were finally captured and arrested along the Texas-Mexico border.

A Busy 48 Hours

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the first arrest occurred on March 13 when 87-year-old Raul Ramos Perez was referred to secondary inspection at Donna International Bridge. The senior citizen then underwent biometric verification in the form of either facial ID or fingerprint scans.

This was when border agents discovered that Perez had an active felony warrant for sexual abuse of a child out of Cameron County. Perez was immediately taken into custody as he awaited his adjudication—a formal judgment—regarding his warrant.

Keep scrolling to see the full list of legal terms, along with their descriptions, used in court rooms across Texas.

The second arrest happened less than 48 hours later on March 14 when border officers at Progreso International Bridge ordered 42-year-old Vicente Reyes Guzman, a U.S. citizen, to secondary inspection.

Biometric verification revealed that Guzman also had an active felony warrant. This time it was for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor out of Burlington, Iowa. The wanted felon was apprehended and sent to the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office to await adjudication.

How Wanted Felons Are Identified

In Texas, CBP agents access the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a centralized database available to law enforcement nationwide, to identify potential felons.

Through the NCIC, criminal records, wanted individuals, violent gang members, and missing persons are all able to be viewed and applied to various circumstances. One common situation where the NCIC is accessed is when verifying identifications along the U.S.-Mexico border.