Texas’s ‘Lucky Charm’ Operation Results in 21 Sex Offender-Related Arrests: Attorney General

A Texas state trooper arrests a U.S. citizen who was transporting three illegal aliens to San Antonio, in Kinney County, Texas, on Oct. 20, 2021. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

Twenty-one suspects were arrested for sex offender-related offenses during an operation in Texas earlier this year, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Oct. 20.

Between August and September, the Houston Fugitive Apprehension Unit (FAU) participated in operation “Lucky Charm” which focused on the arrest of suspects who have failed to register as sex offenders and who had sex offender registration violation warrants originating from the Houston metro area.

“This operation, funded by the US Marshals Office, allowed Houston FAU investigators to work tirelessly to target sex offenders,” the Office of the Attorney General said in a statement.

The 21 suspects arrested were identified as William Nicks, Luis Ovall, Jimmie Culton, Richard Trahan, George Wynn, Felipe Ramon Corona, Kenneth Doyle Elms, Daniel Castillo, David Garcia, Ronald Peeples, Charles Wayne Sherrill, Garry Dwayne Davis, and Jonathan Kurt Young, all of whom are from Harris County.

Stephen Jay Cooke from Matagorda County, Edgar Lee Walker from Angelina County, Randall Jay Perry from Hidalgo County, Jason Mathew Bulgier from Brazoria County, Larry Elton Clark from Galveston County, Garland Dwain Cavit from Dallas County, and Richard Filcher and James Dean Martin from Montgomery County were also among those arrested.

Last week, one of the state’s top 10 wanted sex offenders was arrested in Canyon, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced.

Cory Lee Reed, 30, was located and arrested by members of the U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force, including DPS Special Agents, at his home address on Oct. 14. Dalhart PD assisted in the fugitive investigation.

In 2010, Reed was convicted of two counts of sexual assault of a child following incidents involving a 14-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 10 years probation. In 2011, Reed was convicted of failure to comply with a sex offender’s duty to register and received five years probation. But in 2012, his probation was revoked for Sexual Assault of a Child (X2) and Failure to Comply with Sex Offender’s Duty to Register, and he received two eight-year sentences and a one-year sentence to be served concurrently. Reed was released on parole in March 2019.

Reed is one of two of Texas’ Most Wanted now in custody following their arrests. On Oct. 13, one day prior to his apprehension, Alberto Mendoza, 21, of Dallas, was arrested by Dallas Police officers at a home on the south side, the Texas Department of Public Safety stated.

Mendoza was added to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List on Sept. 7 and had been wanted by authorities since December 2020 for engaging in organized criminal activity and a parole violation.

In 2016, he was convicted on four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to eight years in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison. Mendoza was released on parole in November 2018.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had also issued a Parole Violation warrant for his arrest on Dec. 23, 2020.