AUSTIN — Three of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders are back in custody following coordinated law enforcement operations conducted across the state, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Authorities arrested Eduardo Quinones Fuentes, Kenneth Wayne Patterson, and Leroy Lewis Jr. during separate operations in Hidalgo, Plano, and Houston. A Texas Crime Stoppers reward will be paid in connection with Patterson’s arrest after authorities received a qualifying tip.
Eduardo Quinones Fuentes Arrested at Hidalgo Port of Entry
Eduardo Quinones Fuentes, 32, a documented Tango Valluco gang member who had reportedly fled to Mexico, was arrested June 22 at the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge in Hidalgo.
The arrest resulted from a multi-agency investigation involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), members of the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force, and DPS Criminal Investigations Division Special Agents.
Fuentes had been wanted since October 2025 after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a warrant for a parole violation. DPS also sought him on an obstruction warrant issued that same month. In November 2025, Hidalgo County issued an additional warrant alleging he failed to comply with Texas sex offender registration requirements.
Since 2016, Fuentes has been convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, sexual assault, assault, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and human smuggling. According to DPS, the sexual assault conviction involved an adult female victim, and he received 10 years of probation.
Kenneth Wayne Patterson Arrested in Plano
Kenneth Wayne Patterson, 64, was taken into custody June 24 at an apartment complex in Plano after investigators followed up on tip information.
The operation involved DPS Special Agents, the Plano Police Department, and members of the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force.
Patterson had been wanted since December 2025 after Dallas County issued a warrant alleging he failed to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
According to DPS, Patterson was convicted in Dallas County in 1989 of sexual assault of a child and sentenced to eight years in prison. Authorities say he has a history of failing to comply with sex offender registration laws.
Leroy Lewis Jr. Captured in Houston
Leroy Lewis Jr., 53, was arrested June 22 at a residence in south Houston following a joint investigation led by DPS Special Agents assigned to the Texas Anti-Gang (TAG) Center.
Assisting agencies included the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Violent Criminal Apprehension Team (VCAT), the Houston Police Department Southeast Crime Suppression Team, and the Texas Attorney General’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit.
Lewis had been wanted since March 2026 after Harris County issued a warrant alleging he failed to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
DPS said Lewis was convicted during the 1990s of murder, aggravated robbery, and aggravated kidnapping. Authorities reported that the kidnapping involved a 20-year-old woman whom he intended to sexually abuse. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, paroled in 2012, and became subject to Texas sex offender registration requirements.
Texas Crime Stoppers Continues Statewide Effort
The Texas Crime Stoppers program, funded by the Governor’s Public Safety Office, offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest of individuals on Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, Sex Offenders, and Criminal Illegal Immigrants lists.
According to DPS, 44 individuals on those lists have been arrested so far in 2026, including 32 sex offenders and eight gang members. A total of $61,500 in rewards has been paid to tipsters whose information led to arrests.
To remain eligible for a cash reward, tips must be submitted anonymously through one of the following methods:
- Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
- Submit a tip through the Texas DPS website by selecting the wanted individual and using the online tip form.
- Submit a tip through the Texas DPS Facebook page using the “Submit a Tip” feature.
DPS emphasized that all tips remain anonymous, and tipsters are identified only by an assigned tip number rather than by name.
State investigators continue to work alongside local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to identify and apprehend individuals featured on Texas’ Most Wanted lists.
