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A Mexican national who was wanted on charges of sexually assaulting a child in Texas has been apprehended.
The suspect was identified as 41-year-old Martin Gerardo Perez Garcia. He had been riding on a bus that was stopped on the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge as it was crossing into Laredo, Texas, as confirmed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. It is believed that Perez Garcia was attempting to cross into the United States by using the commercial bus.
ABC 25 KXXV explained the situation more in-depth, adding that officials noticed Perez Garcia’s name was listed on their database due to an arrest warrant in Dallas County:
“After initial inspection, CBP officers referred Garcia for a secondary examination. After running Garcia through the National Crime Information Center’s automated database, they found that Garcia had an outstanding felony warrant in Dallas County.”
According to Dallas News, Albert Flores, port director of the Laredo Port of Entry, issued the following statement:
“Our CBP officers are committed to the CBP mission, and one of their responsibilities is to identify fugitives at our ports of entry and returning them to face justice for the crimes they have committed.”
Who is Martin Gerardo Perez Garcia?
Perez Garcia had been wanted on an outstanding warrant from Dallas County. According to authorities, he was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child younger than 14 years of age and sexual assault of a child.
According to reports, he was also one of several fugitives in recent weeks who were arrested while crossing the border and charged with similar offenses. According to Dallas News, a similar case involving a man named Francisco Lopez, 64, occurred last month, who had also attempted to enter Texas through a commercial bus, and was also wanted in Irving on a charge of sexually abusing a child. At the time, it was noted that a similar incident happened with a man identified as Jesse Mendoza, 23, nearly a week beforehand.
Upon being taken into police custody, he was later booked into Webb County Jail in Laredo, Texas. He is now set to await criminal proceedings.