$5,000 Reward Offered for Escaped Civil Commitment Sex Offender

AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has added James Anthony Rubio, 55, to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender list, and a $5,000 cash reward is now offered for information leading to his capture. In April 2012, Rubio was discharged from prison after serving a 20-year sentence. Sunday night just after 11:30 p.m., he cut off his ankle monitor and fled from the Travis County Residential Center in Del Valle, Texas. Texas Crime Stoppers tips are guaranteed to be anonymous.

Rubio, now wanted for felony Failure to Comply with Civil Commitment Requirements, is a sexually violent predator with previous military training and experience. Anybody encountering him should use extreme caution.He has relatives and friends living in San Antonio, but he may be headed to Mexico. 

Rubio has served time in prison for sexually assaulting four different women, three of whom were in their 20s, while the fourth was 14 years old. During these offenses, Rubio threatened to kill his victims and/or their loved ones, punched the victims, and/or used scissors or other objects to prevent their escape.

Rubio can speak Spanish, earned an auto mechanics certificate from a vocational college, and served four years in the military.

Rubio is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 186 pounds.  His tattoos include a rose/baby doll, skull, star, and cobra on his right arm; Marine Corps symbol and eagle/”JR” on his left arm; cowgirl, roses, unicorn, and spurs on his chest; and Mardi Gras masks on right shoulder.  For more information, please view his wanted poster at: http://www.dps.texas.gov/Texas10MostWanted/SexOffenderDetails.aspx?id=168.

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 the Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitives or sex offenders. There are four different ways to provide anonymous tips:

• Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS      (8477).
• Text the letters DPS—followed by your tip—to 274637      (CRIMES) from your cell phone.
• Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting      the fugitive you have information about, and then clicking on the link      under their picture.
• Submit a Facebook tip at http://www.facebook.com/texas10mostwanted      by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).

All calls, texts, e-mails and Facebook messages are anonymous.

DPS investigators work with local law enforcement agencies to select fugitives for the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive and Sex Offender lists. To view the current lists—with photos—visit the DPS website at http://www.dps.texas.gov/texas10mostwanted/.

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

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The Corpus Christi Police Department will be hosting its First Annual CCPD Picnic in honor of Retirees and employees of the Police Department in October of 2012.  If you are a retiree or police employee, bring your kids, grandkids, ice chest, blanket, and chairs.

We will be serving hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, drinks, popcorn, snow cones, and cookies.  Bouncy House for the Kids and Games galore~horseshoes, volleyball, kickball, soccer, tug of war, and lots more!

Please contact Teri Barrera at 361-886-2603 for additional information.

Event:  National Night Out

Date of Event:  Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Time: 5 pm to 9 pm

The Corpus Christi Police Department and the Nueces County Sheriff’s Department and other local enforcement agencies will be celebrating the 29^th Annual National Night Out on Tuesday, October 2nd from 5 pm to 9 pm.  This event will provide the public with the opportunity to interact with neighbors, police officers and strengthen public awareness in the community.  This in turn will highlight the significant impact National Night Out has made by bridging the gap between law enforcement and the public in our fight against crime and drug prevention. And for those of you who are unable to participate, you can still show your support by maintaining your porch lights lit throughout the evening.

So let’s make the call and register your event with our local coordinator Brenda Moreno at 886-2568 so our department can join in on your festivities.

So let’s do our part in keeping Corpus Christi a safe place.  Thank you for making National Night Out a success over the years.

Saturday’s Free Adoption Event sponsored by People Assisting Animal Control (PAAC) at the City Animal Care Shelter was a tremendous success, according to officials close to the event. On Saturday between 1:00 and 3:00 pm, PAAC paid the adoption fee for all dogs and cats housed in the Adoption Kennels at the City Animal Care Shelter. As a result of the event, 40 dogs and 16 cats found new homes with caring owners.

A line of over 50 people wrapped around the sidewalk of the Animal Care Shelter before the facility opened at 1:00 PM, and city officials estimated well over 200 attended the event before the doors to the Shelter closed at 6:00 PM. Animal Control employees and PAAC volunteers struggled to keep up with the long lines of people submitting applications to adopt, but the excitement of adopting a new pet seemed to make the wait worthwhile for most. “I can’t thank PAAC and their dedicated volunteers enough for making this event an incredible success,” said Commander Todd Green, whose duties include supervision of Animal Care and Control Services. “Our Veterinarian, Dr. Draper and our staff worked very hard alongside PAAC to make this event successful, and based on the turnout, it certainly was. I certainly commend everyone who came out and adopted a pet, and thank them for their patience while we processed the paperwork.” Commander Green added that he looked forward to continuing to work closely with PAAC and other local volunteer groups and shelters to make events like this a regular occurrence. Animal Care officials remind the public that for every pet adopted, two strays are saved: the pet that is taken home and the stray that then takes its place at the shelter.

The Corpus Christi Police Department has concluded an internal investigation of a city animal control officer who allegedly euthanized a dog prior to a municipal court hearing to determine whether it should be returned to its owner.

On July 30th, 2012 a CCPD Patrol Officer and Animal Control Officer responded to an address on the 3600 block of Wright Street to investigate an allegation of animal neglect. Upon their arrival officers discovered the carcass of a dog that appeared to have died due to neglect, ie-lack of adequate water, shade, etc. The Animal Control Officer impounded a second dog that also appeared to be neglected, while the Patrol Officer generated an incident report for animal cruelty against the dogs’ owner. A necropsy was later conducted upon the deceased dog and the veterinarian determined it had died due to dehydration and excessive body heat.

The animal cruelty case was forwarded to the District Attorney’s office Misdemeanor section for prosecution on July 31^st.

On August 17^th, the Animal Control Officer and the dog’s owner appeared in Municipal Court for a hearing to determine whether the impounded dog should be returned to the owner. A Municipal Court Judge ruled to release the impounded animal back to the owner, assessing impound fees and associated costs. The Animal Control Officer returned to the Animal Control Facility, where he discovered that the impounded dog had been inadvertently euthanized on August 16th, 2012 by another Animal Control employee. Paperwork associated with the impounded dog clearly indicated that it was being held pending the August 17th Municipal Court hearing and could not be euthanized prior to August 28, 2012. The incident was brought to the attention of Animal Control Supervisors, who referred the incident to the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit for investigation. That investigation has been concluded and the employee will serve a one day suspension without pay.

“This incident, although extremely unfortunate, identified a weakness in our existing procedures,” stated Commander Todd Green, whose duties include the supervision of Animal Care and Control Services. “The employee responsible has been disciplined, but more importantly we have implemented a system to prevent this from occurring again.”

The new procedure includes more active participation in the process by the Animal Care Services Veterinarian, and a review/sign-off by at least two Animal Care and Control employees before any dog or cat may be euthanized.

Animal Care and Control Services intakes between 8,000 and 11,000 animals each year.  Animal Control Employees are forced to euthanize between sixty and seventy percent of these unwanted animals.  This can be a heavy emotional burden on employees, who must euthanize hundreds of dogs and cats every month.  As a result, the Department is in the process of securing counseling services for those employees who must perform this needed, but unpleasant, task.

Have you ever thought about joining your Corpus Christi Police Department, but are unable to become a fulltime officer or employee? We invite anyone interested to visit the Police Department on September 18, 2012 at 6:00pm to explore other ways to serve our community through the Police Department.

    Law Enforcement Explorer Post 133 is for young men and women ages 15 to 21 who are interested in learning about law enforcement careers and serving their community. Police Explorers participate in various community and police-related projects throughout the year. Explorer teams also compete all over the state and nationwide. Categories for competition include all areas of law enforcement, such as searches and seizures, crime scene investigation, hostage negotiation, bomb search, first aid, misdemeanor and felony traffic stops, and domestic violence. There are also competitions like obstacle courses, physical challenges and competitive shooting.

The program is subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America and provides young men and women with the opportunity to develop a working knowledge of law enforcement procedures, duties and concepts; and enhance participants’ sense of responsibility through knowledge, teamwork, and community involvement. For more information about the Explorer program, visit the city website at http://www.cctexas.com/?fuseaction=main.view&page=2133.

The Corpus Christi Police Department Volunteers In Police Service (VIPS) program provides police service and promotes community partnership. Our volunteers perform a wide variety of duties throughout the department, enabling our paid personnel to concentrate on specialized tasks and better manage their workflow. Volunteers serve in non uniformed positions such as office assistant, receptionist, disabled parking enforcement, or assisting with special events to name just a few.  We value our volunteers’ diversity of skills, abilities, education, and life experiences which they nobly donate to our community. The most effective law enforcement efforts are collaborative partnerships between police and community members. http://www.cctexas.com/?fuseaction=main.view&page=4166

           Reserve Police Officers are state licensed law enforcement officers who serve at the discretion of the Chief of Police. They are empowered with the same authority as our full time officers. Members of the Corpus Christi Police Reserves Organization assist the regular sworn officers of the department in the enforcement of laws and maintenance of the peace. Reserve Officers are also called upon to assist at special events or during emergencies. Reserve officers volunteer their time without financial compensation. Uniforms and equipment are provided by the department. All Reserve Police Officers are required to contribute 192 hours annually, with a minimum of 16 hours per month.

Please join us for a presentation about the Corpus Christi Police Reserve Officer Program, the Police Explores Post 133 and our Volunteers in Police Services Program (VIPS) Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 6:00 pm at the Main Police Station at 321 John Sartain Street in the 5^th floor auditorium.