Edinburg man, identified as fugitive in 2012 Florida sexual assault case, arraigned on narcotic possession and falsifying identity
Photo above: Carlos Perez, wanted on sexual assault case from 2012, was arrested on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, and arraigned on Tuesday, July 2, in Edinburg Municipal Court. Photo courtesy of the City of Edinburg.
By Maria Ruiz
Edinburg, Texas – July 3, 2024 – On Tuesday, July 2, an Edinburg man arraigned on narcotic and false information charges was identified as a wanted fugitive in a 2012 Tampa, Florida sexual assault case.
35-year-old Carlos Perez of Edinburg, Texas, was arrested last Tuesday during a routine traffic stop at the 1100 block of W. Trenton Rd. by the Edinburg Regional Hospital.
Perez faces charges of narcotics possession and falsifying fraudulent information on a government ID, according to Edinburg Police Lieutenant Gabriel Vela-Reyna. He clarified that the fugitive used other people’s information to reside in Texas. The lieutenant did not specify how long Perez lived as an Edinburg resident before his arrest.
“He’s going to have a total of 8 narcotics charges. They’re all possession charges,” said Vela-Reyna, explaining that after Perez’s arrest, police obtained a search warrant. “And he has one [for] tampering with government documents. It’s a second-degree felony.”
For this, Perez’s bond was set at $355,000.
According to the lieutenant, the Edinburg Police Department worked alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to locate the fugitive, ending a search of over a decade.
“In conjunction with the FBI, the Edinburg Police Department managed to track down this suspect, properly identified him….took him under arrest,” said Vela-Reyna. “That day, he was spotted by one of our sergeants that was on duty.”
A Florida judge charged a then-23-year-old Perez with lewd or lascivious battery on March 21, 2012, a second-degree felony, according to a court document from the Hillsborough County Clerk Court.
Perez faced three separate cases under the same offense, one of them including the molestation of a minor between 12 and 15 years of age. Two of the cases remain open.
He also faced a track record before his hiding in Texas. Perez committed grand theft of the third degree and organized fraud in 2008, three speeding cases in 2010, driving without a license while revoked or suspended in 2011, and a repeated domestic violence case on March 26, 2012.
Vela-Reyna said that Perez would also be transferred to Tampa, Florida, to face the case he fled from twelve years ago.
“Ultimately, at one point or another, he will be transferred to Tampa, Florida, to face the original charge,” he said.