By Andy Sevilla.
What seemed like an ordinary welfare check on a man reportedly lying in the grass along Interstate 35 in Kyle, resulted in the 29th capture of a person on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) 10 Most Wanted List last October.
Reynaldo Ybarra Zamora, who was added to the Texas 10 Most Wanted list in June, was arrested on Oct. 8 by Kyle Police.
Shortly after his officers arrested Zamora, 59, who was wanted for aggravated kidnapping, burglary of a home and evading arrest, Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett said his department had no idea the person walking along the northbound service road of I-35 would turn out to be a wanted man with a violent criminal past.
“Our officers investigate every call that is made to our department,” Barnett said in October. “It just so happened that a motorist called 911 to report someone lying on the side of the highway, my officers went out there to check on the guy and it turned out that he was a wanted man.”
Last week, DPS announced the capture of a total of 32 most wanted persons in 2013 – 19 of which were sex offenders – an all-time high number of arrests of absconders on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Program for any calendar year.
The previous record of 30 arrests was in 2012.
“The Texas 10 Most Wanted Program has proven highly effective in getting offenders off the streets and back behind bars—thanks to the aggressive and proactive efforts between state, local and federal law enforcement agencies,” said DPS Director Steven McGraw in a statement. “Tips from the public are just as essential to the success of this program, and we are grateful for the public’s efforts to protect our communities from these dangerous criminals and sexual predators.”
Barnett echoed McGraw’s sentiment and said that the success in partnerships between citizens and law enforcement, as well as the hard work of dedicated law enforcement officers across state, is evidenced by the fact that 2013 saw the most Texas 10 Most Wanted arrests than any other year before.
“Kyle PD was proud to participate in the success achieved this year in regards to the new record setting year for fugitive apprehension,” Barnett said last week in a telephone interview. “Law enforcement officers, with the assistance from our fellow citizens work diligently to try and keep our communities safe day in and day out.”
Among the 32 arrested in 2013, two fugitives and one sex offender were extradited from Mexico, according to DPS officials. The 19 sex offenders on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Program that were arrested in 2013 also marked an all-time high total for any calendar year. The previous record of eight captured sex offenders on that list was made in 2012.
Additionally, $77,500 were paid out in rewards, marking the second-highest total payout in a year, DPS said.
No reward was paid out in Zamora’s arrest, because the motorist who called the Kyle PD was making a welfare call on a person they saw lying next to the highway, not reporting the sighting of a fugitive on the most wanted list, officials said.
Gov. Rick Perry declared January as Crime Stoppers Month in Texas. The Crime Stoppers programs enable citizens to anonymously report on crimes for cash rewards.
“Texas Crime Stoppers has played an integral role in solving thousands of crimes and empowering citizens to take a stand against crime in their communities,” Gov. Perry said in a statement. “The vigilance of civilian volunteers combined with the commitment by law enforcement involved in Crime Stoppers programs have made – and will continue to make – Texas a safer place to live.”
Texas Crime Stoppers is funded by the Governors Criminal Justice Division and offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of the Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitives and sex offenders. Any tips provided are guaranteed to be anonymous, according to DPS officials.
DPS investigators work with local law enforcement agencies to select fugitives for the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders lists, DPS said. You can find current lists with photos on the DPS website.
