An 82-year-old man wanted in Arizona for nearly two decades on felony child molestation and sexual conduct with a minor charges was arrested outside his Bexar County home while doing yard work. Deputies took Jesus Ruben Rodriguez into custody without incident and booked him into the Bexar County Jail, closing out a case that began with a routine traffic stop three weeks earlier.
The unraveling started on August 12, when a Bexar County Precinct 2 deputy pulled Rodriguez over for a traffic violation, according to WOAI. An alert flagged during the stop indicated Rodriguez could be someone wanted in Arizona, but Arizona authorities could not confirm at that time that he was actually the man they were looking for. His identifying information did not fully match what Arizona had on file, so Rodriguez received a written warning for the traffic violation and was allowed to leave.
That gap in the paperwork wasn't the end of it. Deputy Nathan Carrizales of the Precinct 2 Constable's Office kept working the case after the stop, according to The Hawk's Eye - C & N. A Bexar County Precinct 2 deputy contacted Maricopa County officials for more information, and on September 3, Arizona authorities provided additional details, including an alias used by the wanted man. Investigators confirmed that day that Rodriguez was in fact the person they had been searching for.
Yard Work Interrupted by an Arrest
The following day, deputies went to Rodriguez's home in Bexar County and found him outside doing yard work. He was arrested without incident and taken to the Bexar County Jail. Rodriguez acknowledged that his real name was Jesse Rodriguez, per authorities, and said he knew about the Arizona warrant and had been a fugitive for nearly 20 years. Per the same account from the constable's office, Rodriguez acknowledged he had lived in Arizona around the time of the alleged crimes, though he denied involvement in the criminal activity itself.
The Hawk's Eye reported that Rodriguez had lived in a trailer park in Arizona and that he acknowledged using the alias Jesse Rodriguez once deputies caught up with him. He is wanted in Maricopa County, Arizona, on felony charges of sexual conduct with a minor and child molestation, and is expected to be returned to Arizona to face those charges.
Why the Warrant Never Expired
The nearly two-decade gap between the alleged crimes and Rodriguez's arrest is explained by Arizona law. Felony child molestation and violent sexual offenses against minors carry no statute of limitations in Arizona, according to CHM Law, even though general felony statutes of limitations in the state run just seven years. That legal carve-out is why Maricopa County was able to keep an active arrest warrant against Rodriguez alive for nearly 20 years, and why age alone did not shield an 82-year-old suspect from prosecution.
Under Arizona Revised Statutes covering these offenses, charges of sexual conduct with a minor and child molestation involving victims under 15 are classified as Dangerous Crimes Against Children, which carry mandatory prison sentences upon conviction, according to Kolsrud Law Offices. Arizona law bars probation for convictions involving sexual crimes against child victims, meaning a conviction would carry real prison time rather than a lesser sentence.
What Happens Next Under Texas Extradition Law
Rodriguez's arrest in Texas triggers a separate legal process before he can actually be sent back to Arizona. Under Chapter 51 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, out-of-state fugitives apprehended in Texas are held under a magistrate's fugitive warrant pending either an executive demand from the governor of the demanding state or a formal waiver of extradition, per Flanary Law Firm, PLLC. Texas enforces the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act for interstate felony transfers like this one.
Once extradition is ordered or waived, standard administrative policy for Maricopa County extradition holds gives the requesting agency up to 30 calendar days to physically take custody of the fugitive, though actual transfers are frequently completed within 10 days when the paperwork moves quickly. It remains unclear exactly when Maricopa County will complete the transport to bring Rodriguez back to Arizona.
Long-term fugitive cases tied to Maricopa County are often supported by the FBI's Desert Hawk Violent Fugitive Task Force, a joint federal-local unit formed in 1992 that works alongside the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Apprehension Tactical Enforcement unit to track high-priority repeat offenders and long-running fugitives. The arrest itself, however, fell to local Texas law enforcement: the Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable's Office, led by Constable Leticia Vazquez, a 25-year veteran of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office who was elected to the post in 2020 and re-elected in November 2024.
Open questions remain about the case, including the specific year the alleged Arizona offenses took place and whether Rodriguez had been living continuously in Bexar County under his alias before deputies caught up with him.
