U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that agents at the Laredo Port of Entry caught a fugitive accused of homicide in Dallas County attempting to enter the United States on Tuesday.
Border patrol agents stopped 27-year-old Jorge Cortez at the Gateway to the Americas Bridge on May 30 when he applied for entry into the United States as a pedestrian. Agents detained Cortez and ran biometric verification through multiple law enforcement databases. They discovered that Cortez had an outstanding warrant for homicide in Dallas County.
Agents transferred Cortez to Laredo’s Webb County Jail, where he will be extradited to Dallas to face charges.
Cortez was identified through the use of the National Crime Information Center, a centralized, automated database. The database helps law enforcement make arrests and provides information for a wide array of crimes, including money laundering, escape, child sex abuse, narcotic trafficking, larceny, fraud, military desertion, robbery, and homicide.
Laredo Port of Entry Director Albert Flores released a statement commending border patrol agents’ efforts to secure the U.S. interior.
“I commend our CBP officers for their hard work and attention to detail. This apprehension demonstrates our commitment and vigilance to securing the homeland and keeping our communities safe,” Flores said.
According to a Dallas Police Department (DPD) public information officer, Jorge Cortez has had an outstanding warrant in Dallas County since February.
Police issued the warrant in connection to the February 15, 2023, killing of 51-year-old Ray Salinas. Officers responded to a shooting call around 2 p.m. that day at the 9200 block of Beckleycrest Drive near Willoughby Park in South Dallas, where they found Salinas shot inside a home. Salinas later died at the scene.
The City of Dallas has been struggling in recent months with a rising tide of reported murders. As of May 1, 95 incidents have been reported, signifying an increase of more than 20% year over year, according to a DPD report.
Additionally, the department has been suffering from a serious staffing shortage numbering in the hundreds. Dallas currently employs roughly 3,100 police officers, but DPD Chief Eddie Garcia told The Dallas Express in a recent interview that the department needs hundreds more to fulfill the city’s public safety needs.
More up-to-date information is unfortunately unavailable, allegedly due to a purported ransomware attack on City servers in early May, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
