US citizen arrested at South Texas port on drug and crime warrants

McALLEN, Texas ( Border Report ) — A U.S. citizen was arrested while trying to cross the border into Laredo, Texas, on multiple outstanding warrants for alleged violent crime and drug-related charges throughout Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Thursday.

Jaime Ruiz Villanueva, 25, was taken into custody Wednesday after walking across the Gateway to the Americas Bridge from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, into Laredo, CBP officials said.

“CBP officers successfully apprehended a dangerous individual and collaborated with several law enforcement agencies to bring him to justice,” Laredo Port Director Albert Flores said in a statement .

Villanueva was arrested after CBP officers sent him for secondary inspection while he was entering the United States. During secondary examination, CBP officers used biometric verification technology and federal law enforcement databases from the National Crime Information Center to link his identity to several outstanding felony warrants, CBP says.

This included warrants on charges of:

• Homicide in a murder case sought by the Fort Worth Police Department.
• Probation violation on an original possession of controlled substances charge sought by the Midland County Sheriff’s Office.
• Assault causing bodily injury to a family member sought by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials say all three warrants are active.

Villanueva was being held Thursday in the Webb County Jail on a $10,500 bond, according to jail records .

The National Crime Information Center is operated by the FBI and is a computerized index of criminal justice information, including criminal records and outstanding warrants, that is shared to federal, state and local law enforcement organizations.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.

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