Another high-profile defendant accused of ditching GPS ankle monitor, heading for the border
Ankle monitor gaps prompt push for change
FOX 26 was the first to report on another high-profile defendant ditching his GPS tracking device and heading to the border. FOX 26's Randy Wallace explains.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Fredy Arriaga was free on a $100,000 bond following his arrest in April 2025 for sexual assault. His bond conditions include wearing a GPS ankle monitor.
What they're saying:
According to prosecutors, Arriaga grabbed a young woman by the hair and dragged her into the woods. The victim's mother and brother heard her scream and held Arriaga until police arrived.
On October 6, Arriaga showed up in court. But he failed to appear on October 16 ,the day his trial was supposed to begin.
Earlier this year, capital murder defendant Lee Gilley took his ankle monitor off and fled to Italy.
"There's over 4,000 defendants currently being monitored by Harris County Pretrial services that have an ankle monitor/GPS device," said Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers. "How many of those are for violent offenses, who knows?They won't say how many of them are wanted again, nobody knows."
Nobody is monitoring defendants with ankle monitors 24/7. Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia is working to change that with more than a million dollars approved by commissioners court.
"I wanted to make sure we do not have another case like the one where the individual was able to tamper with the device and end up in Italy," said Garcia. "So I want to make sure that we are tracking violent offenders, in particular, but all people who've been given these devices, we have several of them out there, and I want to make sure we use the technology to the fullest extent by monitoring them effectively 24/7. Now, we will be able to coordinate that with the Harris County Sheriffs Office and the District Attorney's Office."
The Source: FOX 26 Reporter Randy Wallace spoke with Andy Kahan from Houston Crime Stoppers and Harris County Commissioner Precinct 2 Adrian Garcia.