The manhunt intensifies as the Texas Department of Public Safety adds a new name to its notorious roster, the "Texas 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrants List." The latest addition, one Jose Miguel Zelaya-Ponce, a 20-year-old fugitive from Honduras, is currently sought in Harris County for charges as grave as aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, according to the DPS. Zelaya-Ponce has been on the run since July of this year, prompting Texas Crime Stoppers to step in with a gamble; they're dangling a cash reward of up to $3,000 for information that would lead to his capture, emphasizing that all tips are to be taken under the strictest confidentiality.
The story of Zelaya-Ponce is a winding and troubled road; after his initial arrest by U.S. Customs and Border Protection back in April 2021, he was charged with alien removal but was later released under an order of recognizance, and it seemed for a time that he had slipped through the cracks, that is until June 2024 when he was slapped with a final order of removal, yet by then, he had already drifted off the grid, and now the authorities are calling on the public for assistance—they're betting that someone somewhere might have seen something, might know something about this 6-foot-tall man weighing about 170 pounds with ties so thick to Harris County, and particularly the city of Houston.
This case isn't an isolated occurrence; the capture of another fugitive from this same list was confirmed just last month, marking a grim rhythm to these proceedings. The Governor's Public Safety Office funds the efforts, which aim to incentivize the community with cash rewards for any crucial details that may lead to arrests of the state’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, Sex Offenders, and Criminal Illegal Immigrants, as announced by DPS. In the year 2024 alone, a total of 29 individuals from this list, which included, among others, 10 sex offenders and 10 gang members along with 3 criminal illegal immigrants, have been apprehended.
For those wanting to make their voices heard—and perhaps their pockets a little heavier—the methods for submitting the information are threefold, pick up the phone and dial the Crime Stoppers hotline, navigate through the DPS website, and find your way to the submit a web tip option, or take a more social approach and drop a Facebook tip, but remember, these avenues are constructed such that anonymity is the foundation; you'll get a tip number, no need for names or faces to be involved, and most importantly, if you happen to cross paths with Zelaya-Ponce, keep a safe distance as these fugitives are stamped with the warning that they are considered armed and dangerous.
