Juan Alfredo Gandarilla, 43, a Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender, is now in custody after being arrested in El Paso Monday night by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Bridge of the Americas. Gandarilla turned himself in to authorities, and stated that he did not want to be arrested in Mexico. Gandarilla was wanted for failure to comply with sex offender registration and parole violation.

Gandarilla, who has family in the El Paso area, is a high-risk sex offender with a lengthy criminal history, which included a conviction for sexually molesting a 9-year-old girl. He has been wanted since 2005 and was added to the Most Wanted list in September of 2012. See Gandarilla’s captured bulletin at: http://www.dps.texas.gov/Texas10MostWanted/SexOffenderDetails.aspx?id=163. The arrest was not the result of a tip and no reward will be paid.

So far in 2013, DPS and other agencies have arrested six Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders, and $10,000 in rewards have been paid for tips that resulted in arrests. The cash rewards are funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division.

The following link, http://www.dps.texas.gov/Texas10MostWanted/video/tipsterVideo.htm, explains the steps on how to submit a tip regarding a Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive or Sex Offender and/or how to receive a reward once the fugitive is captured.

Anyone with information can provide anonymous tips in four different ways:

• Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
• Text the letters DPS—followed by your tip—to 274637 (CRIMES) from your cell phone.
• Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about, and then clicking on the link under their picture.
• Submit a Facebook tip at http://www.facebook.com/texas10mostwanted by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).

All calls, texts, e-mails and Facebook messages are anonymous.

DPS investigators work with local law enforcement agencies to select fugitives featured in the Texas 10 Most Wanted Program. To view the current lists—with photos—visit the DPS website at http://www.dps.texas.gov/texas10mostwanted/.

Do not attempt to apprehend these fugitives; they are considered armed and dangerous.