EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Three of Texas’ 10 “Most Wanted” are back in custody following their recent arrests, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said in a news release.
Authorities arrested Texas 10 most wanted fugitives Christopher Garay on Nov. 29 and Johnny Wilson on Dec. 2. Michael Petterson, a Texas 10 most wanted sex offender, was arrested on Nov. 27, DPS said.
Christopher Joshua Garay
Johnny Leon Wilson
Michael Wayne Petterson
DPS said Crime Stoppers rewards will be paid in Garay’s and Wilson’s arrests.
Garay, 35, was taken into custody in San Antonio. Following up on tip information, the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force — including DPS special agents — and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Office of the Inspector General (TDCJ OIG) located and arrested him, DPS said.
DPS said that in 2011, Garay was convicted of five counts of aggravated robbery and subsequently sentenced to 18 years of confinement for each count.
In 2018, Garay was released on parole from TDCJ. He had been wanted since January when a warrant was issued for his arrest out of Bexar County for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, DPS said.
Additionally, in February, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a parole warrant for his arrest.
More information on Garay’s capture can be found here.
Wilson, 54, was taken into custody in Grand Prairie. Following up on tip information, the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force — including DPS special agents — Fort Worth Police Department, Grand Prairie Police Department, Mansfield Police Department, and TDCJ OIG located and arrested him, DPS said.
In 2019, Wilson was arrested by the Houston Police Department for murder. He subsequently bonded out with an ankle monitor, which he later either damaged or removed, DPS said.
DPS said Wilson had been wanted since February 2023, when the Harris County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for his arrest for murder.
More information on Wilson’s capture can be found here.
Petterson, 55, a “high-risk” sex offender, was taken into custody in Dayton, DPS said. Working off investigative information, DPS special agents and troopers, along with the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force located and arrested him, DPS said.
DPS said that in 1991, Petterson was convicted of aggravated sexual assault following an incident with a 17-year-old female. He was subsequently sentenced to 10 years of confinement.
In 2003, Petterson was convicted of harassment. In 2008, he was convicted of failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements and subsequently sentenced to five years of probation, DPS said.
In 2014, he was convicted of assault of a family/household member by impeding breath/circulation and subsequently sentenced to five years of probation.
Petterson had been wanted since November 2023, when the San Augustine County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for his arrest for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements, DPS said.
More information on Petterson’s capture can be found here.
Texas Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of Texas’ 10 most wanted fugitives, sex offenders, or criminal undocumented migrants.
So far in 2024, DPS and other agencies have arrested 44 Texas 10 most wanted fugitives, sex offenders, and criminal undocumented migrants, including 16 sex offenders, 10 gang members, and four criminal undocumented migrants — with $32,000 in rewards being paid for tips that yielded arrests, DPS said.
DPS said to be eligible for cash rewards, tipsters must provide information to authorities using one of the following three 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 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.
“Do not attempt to apprehend these fugitives; they are considered armed and dangerous,” DPS said.
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