Customs and Border Protection officers at Brownsville's Gateway International Bridge were instrumental in the arrest of a man facing serious allegations of sexual misconduct. The individual apprehended is Javier Arturo Rios, a 49-year-old U.S. citizen, caught on a warrant for charges related to sexual assault and indecency with a child.
Port Director Tater Ortiz praised the vigilance of the CBP officers involved in the capture, stating, "Our CBP officers maintain strict vigilance in the performance of their duties and their attention to detail led to the apprehension of a man with an outstanding warrant for sexual assault," according to a release from the CBP. Rios was stopped for a secondary inspection at the bridge on Tuesday, where biometric verification and federal law enforcement databases confirmed his identity and revealed the outstanding warrant from the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office.
The arrest was facilitated by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a centralized database that aids in the communications amongst law enforcement agencies. This platform contains information regarding various offenses, including warrants for arrests across a swath of crimes.
The database provided the information that led to Rios' arrest. After confirming his identity and an outstanding warrant for sexual assault and indecency with a child by sexual contact, he was taken into custody and turned over to the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office. CBP has previously used NCIC information to apprehend individuals wanted for crimes ranging from homicide to military desertion.
