Waco, TX - The U.S. Marshals and Navasota Police Department arrested a 17-year fugitive in Navasota on Tuesday.
In 2002, Victor Leon was convicted by a jury in Bell County for aggravated sexual assault of a child. The sexual assaults on the child had occurred on a regular basis over a number of years. Leon, who was out on bond at the time of his court case, did not show up for his sentencing and went on the run. An arrest warrant was then issued for failure to appear for sentencing. Even though Leon failed to physically appear in court, the judge sentenced him to 80 years in prison.
Recently, an investigator with the Bell County District Attorney’s Office developed information that Leon may be living in a motel in Navasota. Investigators conducted surveillance at the motel and saw a man who appeared to be Leon. On Tuesday, they made contact with him, confirmed his identity and arrested him without incident. An associate, Tessie McCord, was also arrested at the motel, and she is now charged with harboring a fugitive.
“At last, the victim in this case can find a level of peace, knowing that her assailant is now behind bars," said U.S. Marshal Susan Pamerleau of the Western District of Texas. “Victor Leon went to great lengths to evade apprehension, but his life on the run has come to an end. Our deputy U.S. marshals promised the victim that we would find him one day, and we are relieved to finally have been able to deliver on that promise."
Leon and McCord were both transported to the Grimes County Jail in Anderson, where Leon is awaiting extradition to Bell County to be formally sentenced for the aggravated sexual assault of a child.
The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offender and Fugitive Task Force was assisted by the Navasota Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department in these arrests.
