AUSTIN – Tommy Dale Sells Jr., 39, a Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive and this month's featured fugitive, is now in custody after being captured Tuesday in Albuquerque, N.M. Sells was wanted for aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child by contact. The arrest was not the result of a tip, and no reward will be paid.
Working off investigative information, members of the U.S. Marshals Southwest Investigative Fugitive Task Force located and apprehended Sells in Albuquerque. The investigation that resulted in Sells arrest was a multi-agency effort between the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Criminal Investigations Division, and U.S. Marshals in Amarillo and Albuquerque. Sells, whose last known address was in Amarillo, had been wanted since May 2013 for allegedly sexually assaulting two girls younger than 14 in Amarillo. For additional information, see his captured bulletin.
So far in 2016, DPS and other agencies have arrested nine Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders, including five sex offenders and three gang members, and $15,500 in rewards have been paid for tips that resulted in arrests.
One offender from the Texas 10 Most Wanted Program is featured each month in hopes the higher reward money from the Governor's Criminal Justice Division will generate additional tips.
To be eligible for the cash rewards, tipsters must provide information to authorities using one of the four following 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, and then clicking on the link under their picture.
- Submit a Facebook tip by clicking the "SUBMIT A TIP" link (under the "About" section).
- Submit a tip through the DPS Mobile App. The app is currently available for iPhone users on the Apple App Store and for Android users on Google Play.
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 Fugitive and Sex Offender 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.
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