Texas Border Business
AUSTIN, Texas – Two of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted are back in custody following their recent arrests. Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive Steven Leifeste was arrested Jan. 26. Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender Kenneth Dove Jr. was arrested Feb. 2. A Crime Stoppers reward will not be paid in either arrest.
Steven Clay Leifeste, 45, was taken into custody in Moore, Texas, by members of the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, including DPS Special Agents. Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) – Office of Inspector General, Texas Attorney General’s Office, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, Homeland Security Investigations and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office all assisted in the multi-agency fugitive investigation.
In 2012, Leifeste was convicted of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and failure to stop and render aid – serious bodily injury/death. He was subsequently sentenced to four years of confinement in a TDCJ prison. Leifeste had been wanted since March 2021, when the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office issued multiple warrants for his arrest, including a misdemeanor warrant for evading arrest and a probation violation warrant related to a prior unauthorized use of a vehicle conviction. In March 2022, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office also issued a warrant for his arrest for two counts of sexual assault of a child. For more information, view Leifeste’s captured bulletin.
Kenneth Wayne Dove Jr., 46, was taken into custody in El Paso, Texas, by members of the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, including DPS Special Agents. The El Paso Police Department (EPPD) Sex Offender Registry Team assisted in the multi-agency fugitive investigation.
In 2016, Dove was convicted of two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact following incidents with a five-year-old boy. He was subsequently sentenced to five years’ confinement in a TDCJ prison for each offense, served concurrently. He was discharged from prison in January 2020 and required to register as a sex offender. Dove had been wanted since November 2022, when EPPD issued multiple warrants for his arrest for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements. Since January 2023, additional warrants for his arrest were issued out of El Paso County for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements and evading arrest/detention. For more information, view Dove’s captured 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. In 2023, DPS and other agencies arrested 47 Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders, including 23 sex offenders and 12 gang members. In addition, $111,500 in rewards were 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 Fugitives and Sex Offenders 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.
(HQ 2024-006)
