Three of Texas' Most Wanted captured, back in custody
Texas - The Texas Department of Public Safety announced the arrests of three men from the state's 10 Most Wanted list.
Fugitives Christopher Joshua Garay, Johnny Leon Wilson, and Michael Wayne Petterson, who was on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender list, were all arrested by authorities on Nov. 29, Dec. 2, and Nov. 27, respectively. Crime Stoppers rewards will be paid for tips leading to the arrests of Garay and Wilson.
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Christopher Joshua Garay
Garay, 35, was captured in San Antonio. In 2011, he was convicted on five counts of aggravated robbery and sentenced to 18 years for each count.
Released on parole in 2018, Garay became a fugitive in January 2024 after a warrant was issued in Bexar County for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles also issued a parole violation warrant in February 2024.
Johnny Leon Wilson
Fifty-four-year-old Wilson was arrested in Grand Prairie. In 2019, the Houston Police Department arrested Wilson for murder and he was released on bond with an ankle monitor, which he later removed or damaged.
He had been wanted since February 2023, when the Harris County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for his arrest for murder.
Michael Wayne Petterson
A high risk sex offender, 55-year-old Petterson was taken into custody in Dayton. He was convicted in 1991 for aggravated sexual assault involving a 17-year-old female and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was also convicted for harassment in 2003, failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements in 2008, and assault of a family or household member by impeding breath or circulation in 2014, which for him five years of probation.
He had been wanted since November 2023, when the San Augustine County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
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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.DPS investigators work with local law enforcement agencies to select fugitives for the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, Sex Offenders and Criminal Illegal Immigrants Lists. You can find the current lists — with photos — on the DPS website.
Do not attempt to apprehend these fugitives; they are considered armed and dangerous.