Texas Border Business
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has added two men to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Lists. Erick Martinez, of Dallas, is on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List. William Eugene Bird, of Austin, is on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders List. Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $7,500 for information leading to Martinez’s arrest and up to $3,000 for information leading to Bird’s arrest. All tips are guaranteed to be anonymous.
Erick Martinez, 34, has been wanted since September 2021, after the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office issued warrants for his arrest for four counts of sexual assault of a child and two counts of failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
In 2011, Martinez was convicted of 17 counts of sexual assault of a child, 17 counts of indecency with a child by contact, two counts of sexual assault, one count of indecency with a child by exposure and one count of evading arrest with a vehicle. The convictions stemmed from incidents involving a 16-year-old girl, a 20-year-old woman, and another victim (age unknown). Martinez was given 37 five-year sentences and one 6-month sentence. In June 2020, he was arrested by the Dallas Police Department for four counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of failure to comply with sex offender’s registration requirements. He subsequently bonded out of jail.
Martinez is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 165 pounds. He has tattoos on his right arm and scars on his head, both arms and right hand. In addition to Dallas, he also has ties to El Paso. For more information or updates in the event of his arrest, view Martinez’s wanted bulletin.
William Eugene Bird, 54, has been wanted since October 2021, when the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for probation violation.
In 2012, Bird was convicted of indecency with a child by exposure after an incident involving a 10-year-old girl. He subsequently was sentenced to six years of confinement. In 2014, Bird was convicted of failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements and sentenced to another four years. In 2021, he was convicted of injury of a child and was sentenced to one year of confinement. During the same year, Bird was also convicted of failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements with a previous conviction and received six years’ probation.
Bird is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs about 165 pounds. He has tattoos on his chest, back and both arms. He occasionally wear glasses. In addition to Austin, he also has ties to Bastrop and Kempner. For more information or updates in the event of his arrest, view Bird’s wanted bulletin.
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 Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Fugitives or Sex Offenders. So far in 2022, DPS and other agencies have arrested 45 people off the lists, including 18 gang members and 24 sex offenders. In addition, $72,000 in rewards has been paid for tips that yielded arrests.
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 Fugitive and Sex Offender 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.
