A man who once lived in Pecos and spent more than two years dodging arrest warrants across two states and an international border is now back in U.S. custody, facing a federal indictment on charges of sexual exploitation of a child and distribution of child pornography. Armando Adan Sotelo appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge in the Western District of Texas, Pecos Division, after being deported from Mexico and handed over to federal authorities on July 31.
According to U.S. Attorney WDTX, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, based in San Antonio, obtained a federal indictment against Sotelo in April 2025. The case was investigated by HSI HQ, and Sotelo remains in custody awaiting further judicial proceedings, per the same account. The U.S. Marshals Service, which coordinated with Mexican officials to facilitate his return under its Operation Take Back America initiative, says Sotelo was wanted on multiple state and federal charges before his capture.
A Trail of Warrants Across Two States
Sotelo's legal troubles predate the federal indictment by nearly a year. Starting in May 2024, Reeves County, Texas issued warrants against him for terroristic threat and unlawful carrying of a weapon, and Pecos Police followed a month later with warrants for robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Sotelo was known to reside in Pecos before fleeing across the U.S.-Mexico border, the agency's records show.
The following August, the Hobbs Police Department in New Mexico issued warrants charging Sotelo with three counts of sexual exploitation of children and two counts of criminal sexual penetration. A month after that, the Lea County Sheriff's Office added a probation violation warrant tied to prior firearm convictions, which had involved shooting at or from a motor vehicle and unlawful carrying of a weapon, per the DPS fugitive record.
Federal Case Escalates to Major Case Status
By March 2026, the U.S. Marshals Service Investigative Operations Division had elevated Sotelo's fugitive investigation to “Major Case” status, a designation reserved for high-profile offenders who pose severe public safety threats or are involved in complex, multi-jurisdictional flight, the agency said in its press release. That elevation authorized specialized federal resources and investigative support to trace him across international borders.
Texas DPS placed Sotelo on the Texas 10 Most Wanted list on May 27, offering a reward of up to $7,500 for anonymous tips through Texas Crime Stoppers, which assigns tipsters numerical identifiers rather than collecting names to guarantee anonymity. It was that kind of tip, DPS confirmed, that ultimately led investigators to Sotelo's location and qualified the tipster for a cash reward.
Detained in Chihuahua, Handed to U.S. Marshals
Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force tracked Sotelo to the Mexican state of Chihuahua, where Mexican officials detained him on an immigration violation on July 30 before deporting him to U.S. Marshals at a border port of entry the next day. Rather than pursue a lengthier formal extradition, law enforcement relied on that administrative deportation mechanism, a routine practice when U.S. fugitives are detained abroad on immigration infractions rather than criminal charges, according to the Marshals Service.
The Marshals Service describes itself as the primary federal agency responsible for tracking and extraditing fugitives who flee into foreign countries to escape U.S. prosecution, maintaining international task forces and liaisons with foreign law enforcement to execute warrants. Sotelo's case fits a broader pattern the program has seen: in 2025, the Texas 10 Most Wanted Program and its partner agencies captured 65 fugitives, sex offenders, and criminal illegal immigrants statewide, paying out $41,000 in rewards to 11 anonymous tipsters, according to the Boerne Star. Of those 65 arrests, 62 occurred in Texas, two in neighboring states, and one in Mexico.
What Sotelo Faces in Federal Court
Under 18 U.S.C. § 2251, a federal conviction for sexual exploitation of children carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years for a first offense, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. That statute prohibits employing, enticing, or coercing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct in order to produce visual depictions.
The distribution of child pornography charge Sotelo also faces carries its own steep exposure. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A, that offense carries a mandatory minimum federal prison sentence of 5 years and a maximum of up to 20 years for a first offense, a range that increases to a 15-year minimum if the defendant has prior state sex-offense convictions, according to Justia Law. Sotelo's exact court timeline in the Pecos Division, and how his outstanding Texas and New Mexico state charges will be sequenced relative to the federal case, remain open questions.
Sotelo's capture is the latest in a string of Texas 10 Most Wanted cases this year, following an Austin-area addition to the list in July and a Schertz arrest that closed out another case in June, as per Hoodline. For now, Sotelo remains in federal custody as his case moves through the Western District of Texas.
