AUSTIN – Eric Rene Ruiz, 28, a Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender, is now in custody after being captured Tuesday in Corpus Christi. Ruiz, affiliated with the Surenos Trece gang, was wanted for failure to register as a sex offender. (The arrest was not the result of tip information received through Texas Crime Stoppers, and no reward will be paid.)
The Corpus Christi Police Department took Ruiz into custody following a traffic stop; he was a passenger in the vehicle. Ruiz had been wanted since October 2017. Ruiz has a history of violating his sex offender registration requirements, and he was convicted in 2007 of attempting to sexually assault a 44-year-old woman in Nueces County. For more information, see his captured bulletin.
So far in 2018, DPS and other agencies have arrested nine Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders, including five gang members and four sex offenders.
Texas Crime Stoppers, which is funded by the Governor's Criminal Justice Division, offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of the Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitives or sex offenders.
To be eligible for the cash rewards, tipsters MUST provide information to authorities using one of the three 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).
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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