HARLINGEN — A Harlingen man on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender list was captured in Mexico and is now in the Cameron County jail.
For nearly 18 months Cruz Alfredo Bazan, 27, was a fugitive wanted for failure to register as a sex offender and violating his probation.
The Texas Department of Public Safety says working on a tip federal police in Matamoros arrested Bazan on Tuesday.
They say when Mexican immigration officials determined Bazan had no legal status to remain in that country he was turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service at the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville.
Bazan, who used more than half a dozen aliases by rearranging his first, middle and last name, had been on the run since May 2015. Officials say he was known to have ties in Mexico and his last known address was Haverford Boulevard in Harlingen.
In June 2012, Bazan was convicted of sexual assault of a child involving a 15-year-old Cameron County girl. He was ordered to register annually as a sex offender for the rest of his life. In August 2014 the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department issued a warrant for his arrest for violating his probation and two weeks later the Harlingen Police Department issued a warrant for his arrest for failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
DPS says Texas Crime Stoppers will pay a $3,000 reward to the tipster for providing the crucial information that led to Bazan’s arrest.
