LAREDO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Laredo Port of Entry apprehended a man at the Juarez Lincoln International Bridge who had an outstanding warrant out of Waco, Texas, for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.
“Our frontline officers help keep our communities safe by apprehending travelers with outstanding warrants for a variety of crimes, including those of a sexual nature that impact children,” said Port Director Albert Flores, Laredo Port of Entry.
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The apprehension occurred Sunday, Jan. 9 at the Juarez Lincoln International Bridge. A CBP officer processing commercial bus traffic arriving from Mexico, referred Erick Omar Lopez Cruz, a 43-year-old male Mexican citizen and United States Lawful Permanent Resident, for a secondary inspection. After escorting the passenger to secondary, subsequent biometric verification through law enforcement databases confirmed that the subject had an outstanding felony warrant for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, entered by the McLennan County Sheriff’s Department out of Waco, Texas.
CBP officers confirmed the warrant to be active. CBP turned Lopez Cruz over to the custody of the Webb County Sheriff’s Office.
The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) 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 and until proven guilty in a court of law.
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