PROGRESO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Progreso Port of Entry yesterday encountered a man wanted in the Hidalgo County area on an outstanding felony warrant for failure to appear on an original charge of sexual assault of a child.
“This apprehension on an outstanding warrant for a sex-related offense involving a child underscores the vital importance of our border security mission,” Acting Port Director Jorge Galvan, Progreso/Donna Port of Entry. “Apprehensions like these ensure that justice is upheld and our border communities are safe and secure.”
On Thursday, Jan. 2, CBP officers at the Progreso International Bridge referred pedestrian Felipe Vasquez, 41, a U.S. citizen, for secondary inspection. During secondary examination, CBP officers utilizing biometric verification and federal law enforcement databases verified his identity and discovered that he was the subject of an outstanding felony arrest warrant for failure to appear on an original charge of sexual assault of a child issued by the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. CBP officers turned Vasquez over to Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies for adjudication of the warrant.
The National Crime Information Center is a centralized automated database designed to share information among law enforcement agencies including outstanding warrants for a wide range of offenses. Based on information from NCIC, CBP officers have made previous arrests of individuals wanted for homicide, escape, money laundering, robbery, narcotics distribution, sexual child abuse, fraud, larceny, and military desertion. Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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