Texas Top 10 Most Wanted: 3 captured from fugitive, sex offender lists

Three of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted offenders have been arrested and put back in custody the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced on Wednesday.

Fugitives Juan Carlos Huerta and Jesse Vega were captured on March 26 and April 3 respectively, while Texas's Top 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender Hayden Abel III, was arrested on April 2. A Texas Crime Stoppers reward will be issued in Abel's arrest.

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Huerta was arrested in Amarillo, Texas, by members of the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force, with help from DPS Criminal Investigations Division (CID) Special Agents and the Amarillo Police Department.

Juan Carlos Huerta

The 35-year-old was considered on a burglary charge in 2016 and has been wanted since December 2023 on multiple warrants issued out of Potter County, including aggravated sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child by exposure, and four counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact.

Records state 37-year-old Vega was captured in San Antonio and was wanted since September 2023 for violating parole after a warrant was issued by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Jesse Mario Vega

In 2005, he was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to two years and convicted again in 2009 for aggravated robbery with a 25-year prison sentence.

According to Texas DPS, 40-year-old Abel III is associated with the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang and was arrested in Ingleside, Texas, by DPS CID Special Agents, Texas Highway Patrol Troopers, and the DPS Region 3 Special Response Team.

Abel was wanted since December 2023 on a probation warrant issued out of Kerr County, along with another warrant for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements in Nueces County. In 2022, he was convicted on a burglary charge with the intent to violate/abuse the victim sexually.

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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.

Crime and Public SafetyTexas