Harris County fugitive added to Texas' 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrants List

AUSTIN The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has added Jose Miguel Zelaya-Ponce to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrants List. Texas Crime Stoppers is now offering a cash reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to Zelaya-Ponce’s arrest. All tips are guaranteed to be anonymous.

According to a DPS news release, Jose Miguel Zelaya-Ponce, 20, a criminal illegal immigrant from Honduras, has been wanted out of Harris County since July 2024 for aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14. In April 2021, Zelaya-Ponce was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and charged with alien removal. He was subsequently given an order of recognizance and released. In June 2024, Zelaya-Ponce was issued a final order of removal.

Zelaya-Ponce is 6 feet tall and weighs about 170 pounds. He has ties to Harris County, including the city of Houston. More information about Zelaya-Ponce or updates in the event of his arrest can be found here.

The addition of Zelaya-Ponce to Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrants List follows the capture of another fugitive from the list late last month.

Funded by the Governor’s Public Safety Office, Texas Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, Sex Offenders or Criminal Illegal Immigrants. So far in 2024, DPS and other agencies have arrested 29 Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, Sex Offenders and Criminal Illegal Immigrants, including 10 sex offenders, 10 gang members and 3 criminal illegal immigrants.

To be eligible for cash rewards, tipsters MUST provide information to authorities using one of the following three methods:

• Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
• Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about then clicking on the link under their picture.
• Submit a Facebook tip by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).

All tips are anonymous — regardless of how they are submitted — and tipsters will be provided a tip number instead of using a name.

DPS investigators work with local law enforcement agencies to select fugitives for the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, Sex Offenders and Criminal Illegal Immigrants Lists. You can find the current lists — with photos — on the DPS website.

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