AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announces three of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted offenders are back in custody following their recent arrests. Authorities arrested Texas’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives Juan Huerta and Jesse Vega on March 26 and April 3, respectively. Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender Hayden Abel III was arrested on April 2, and a Texas Crime Stoppers reward will be paid in his arrest.
Juan Carlos Huerta, 35, was taken into custody in Amarillo, Texas, by members of the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force, including DPS Criminal Investigations Division (CID) Special Agents. The Amarillo Police Department assisted in the multi-agency investigation.
In 2016, Huerta was convicted of burglary of a habitation and subsequently sentenced to four years’ probation. He had been wanted since December 2023, after multiple warrants were issued for his arrest out of Potter County: one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, four counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact, and one count of indecency with a child by exposure. More information on Huerta’s capture can be found here.
Jesse Mario Vega, 37, was taken into custody in San Antonio, Texas, by members of the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, including DPS CID Special Agents. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Office of the Inspector General, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Attorney General’s Office and Department of Homeland Security – Immigration Customs Enforcement all assisted in the multi-agency investigation.
In 2005, Vega was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and subsequently sentenced to two years of confinement. In 2009, he was convicted of aggravated robbery and subsequently sentenced to 25 years confinement in a TDCJ prison. In May 2023, Vega was released on parole. Vega had been wanted since September 2023 after a parole violation warrant was issued for his arrest by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. More information on Vega’s arrest can be found here.
Hayden Brince Abel III, 40, affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang, was taken into custody in Ingleside, Texas, by DPS CID Special Agents, along with Texas Highway Patrol Troopers and the DPS Region 3 Special Response Team.
In 2022, Abel was convicted of burglary of a habitation with the intent to violate/abuse the victim sexually. He was subsequently sentenced to eight years’ probation. Abel had been wanted since December 2023, after a probation warrant was issued out of Kerr County for his arrest. Additionally, the same month, a warrant was also issued out of Nueces County for his arrest for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements. More information on Abel’s arrest can be found here.
Funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division, Texas Crime Stoppers, offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Fugitives or Sex Offenders. So far, in 2024, DPS and other agencies have arrested 13 Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders, including seven sex offenders and five gang members.
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 and Sex Offenders 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