Customs and Border Protection Officers arrested a man on Memorial Day wanted in Dallas County for online solicitation of a minor.
CBP officers at the Brownsville Port of Entry arrested 71-year-old Gerardo Zubiri Perez, a Mexican national, on May 26, according to a press release. Perez was wanted by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office on a felony warrant for “solicitation of a minor.”
“Our frontline CBP officers carry out their duties with vigilance, and their efforts helped uncover an outstanding warrant for online solicitation of a minor out of Dallas County,” said Tater Ortiz, port director of the Brownsville Port of Entry, in the release.
Officers at the Gateway International Bridge referred Perez for “secondary inspection,” according to the release, where they used “biometric verification and federal law enforcement databases” to verify his identity. Then, they found he was wanted on an “outstanding felony arrest warrant for solicitation of a minor.”
Perez was “placed in custody” in Cameron County “pending final adjudication of the warrant,” according to the release. According to Cameron County Jail records, he was booked on May 26 and faces charges of soliciting prostitution from a person under 18 years of age. His bond was set at just more than $100,000.
“Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law,” the release reads.
The National Crime Information Center helps law enforcement collaborate on “outstanding warrants,” according to the release. The database has helped CBP officers make arrests for escape, fraud, homicide, larceny, military desertion, money laundering, narcotics distribution, robbery, and sexual child abuse.
“This apprehension illustrates CBP’s commitment to its border security mission and to keeping our communities safe,” Ortiz said in the release.
CBP officers arrested a suspect wanted on a rape warrant from Illinois on May 21, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. The same day, Border Patrol agents arrested a twice-deported sex offender — previously convicted of assaulting a 14-year-old girl — at the Texas-Mexico border.