Galveston, Grand Prairie fugitives added to Texas Most Wanted Sex Offenders List
AUSTIN, Texas - Two Texas men have been added to the state's 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders list.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is seeking 44-year-old Joe Louis Hernandez of Galveston and 37-year-old Gregory Jon Pecina Jr of Grand Prairie.
Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for Hernandez’s arrest, and up to $3,000 for Pecina. All tips are guaranteed to be anonymous.
Joe Hernandez
Hernandez has been wanted since January 2021, when the Galveston Police Department issued a warrant for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
In 1998, Hernandez was convicted of three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child for incidents involving girls ages 2 and 7. He was sentenced to eight years in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison.
In 2007, Hernandez was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm and sentenced to two years in prison. In 2010, he was convicted of failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements and was given three years in prison.
Hernandez is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds. He has tattoos on his back, chest, left arm and hand, abdomen and right leg. In addition to Galveston, he has ties to Houston.
Gregory Pecina Jr
Pecina has been wanted since November 2020, when the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office issued warrants for Pecina’s arrest for aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, aggravated robbery and kidnapping.
In December 2020, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a warrant for his arrest for a parole violation. In April 2021, the Grand Prairie Police Department also issued a warrant for Pecina’s arrest for failure to register as a sex offender.
In 2014, Pecina was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child following an incident with a 13-year-old girl. He was sentenced to eight years in a TDCJ prison and paroled in September 2019.
Pecina is 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs about 180 pounds and has a scar on his back. In addition to Grand Prairie, he also has ties to Granbury.
To be eligible for cash rewards, tipsters MUST provide information to authorities using one of the following three methods:
- Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477)
- Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about then clicking on the link under their picture
- Submit a Facebook tip by clicking the "SUBMIT A TIP" link (under the "About" section)
All tips are anonymous — regardless of how they are submitted — and tipsters will be provided a tip number instead of using a name. Texas DPS is reminding citizens to not attempt to apprehend these fugitives as they are considered armed and dangerous.
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