A high-risk Houston sex offender on court-ordered electronic monitoring, who escaped from an east Houston halfway house April 5, was arrested in Austin early this morning.
Michael Elbert Young, 42, was arrested by the Austin Police Department after an alleged robbery where he is accused of choking a woman and stealing a ring and other belongings early Tuesday morning. Young initially gave a fictitious name at the scene when taken into custody, but his true identity was discovered a short time later. In addition to any charges in Austin, he faces a third-degree felony charge of Failure to Comply with Civil Commitment Requirements in Harris County.
On April 5, Young escaped from the Southeast Texas Transitional Center on 10950 Beaumont Highway around 9:50 p.m. He climbed over a barbed wire-topped fence and discarded his GPS-tracked ankle monitor. A $7,500 Texas Crime Stoppers reward will not be paid since there was not a tip involved.
Young is considered a sexually violent predator who was at a high risk to reoffend. Please see the following links for more information on his crimes:
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/Texas10MostWanted/fugitiveDetails.aspx?&fugitive=Michael%20Elbert%20Young&id=116.
Additionally, this weekend the El Paso Police Department arrested one of the Texas Most Wanted Fugitives after responding to a domestic disturbance. Alfredo Torres, 33, was a Barrio Azteca gang member with a lengthy criminal history. No tip was involved in the arrest.
Texas Crime Stoppers, which is funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division, offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of the Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitives or sex offenders.
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 for the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive and Sex Offender lists. You can find the current lists—with photos—on the DPS website at http://www.dps.texas.gov/texas10mostwanted/.
Do not attempt to apprehend these fugitives yourself; they are considered armed and dangerous.
