Texas Border Business
LAREDO, Texas — U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, Laredo Port of Entry officers apprehended a woman wanted in Bexar County on warrants for multiple sex-related offenses.
“Our frontline CBP officers continue to maintain strict vigilance amid rising holiday traffic and that attention to detail yielded the apprehension of a woman wanted on outstanding warrants stemming from original alleged sex-related offenses involving a child,” said Port Director Michael Martinez, Progreso Port of Entry. “These kinds of apprehensions perfectly exemplify our border security mission and our efforts to help keep our communities safe.”
The fugitive apprehension occurred on Dec. 17, when CBP officers at the Gateway to the Americas Bridge referred pedestrian Melanie Sustaita Rivera, a 23-year-old female U.S. citizen, for secondary inspection. After escorting Rivera to secondary inspection, subsequent biometric verification through law enforcement databases confirmed that the traveler had outstanding felony warrants for a probation violation stemming from an original charge of indecency with a child by exposure issued by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, and sexual offender-absconded issued by the San Antonio Police Department. Rivera was transported to county jail for adjudication of the warrants.
The National Crime Information Center is a centralized automated database designed to share information among law enforcement agencies including outstanding warrants for a wide range of offenses. Based on information from NCIC, CBP officers have made previous arrests of individuals wanted for homicide, escape, money laundering, robbery, narcotics distribution, sexual child abuse, fraud, larceny, and military desertion. Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
