These Eight Dangerous Fugitives Are Wanted for Murder in Texas

Inside the Texas Department of Public Safety website you'll find several 'Most Wanted' lists. Some of those lists include the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and the Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders.

I've taken a look at the previously mentioned 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List as well as the Fugitives Still Wanted List to see which of those fugitives are wanted for murder. I found 8, including a female who is wanted for a Capital Murder that took place around 15 years ago.

Israel Aguirre

Israel Aguirre is a violent criminal with arrests for Murder, Theft, Prostitution, and Failure to ID. In 2002, he was arrested for Theft and Murder. He was convicted of the Theft charge in 2003 and served time in a TDCJ corrections facility. After completing his sentence, he was deported from the US before standing trial on the Murder charge.

In 2005, Aguirre was arrested in Dallas for Prostitution and Failure to ID. He pled No Contest and was released on bond in connection to his 2002 Murder charge. He made a series of court appearances between 2005 and 2007 before disappearing.

On September 9, 2007, the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for Aguirre's arrest for Murder.

Juan Manuel De La Cruz

In 1991, Juan Manuel De La Cruz was arrested for Robbery and Sexual Assault. In 1992, he faced another charge of Robbery as well as Dangerous Drugs. In 1995, De La Cruz was charged with Aggravated Assault With a Deadly Weapon.

On October 9, 2003, he allegedly shot and killed a male victim in Dallas, Texas. A month later the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office issued a Murder warrant for De La Cruz's arrest.

Ernesto Garcia

Ernesto Alonso Garcia, affiliated with the Texas Syndicate gang, has ties to the Rio Grande Valley area, including the city of Edinburg.

In 2002, Garcia was convicted of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and subsequently sentenced to 7 years in TDCJ prison. In February 2011, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a warrant for his arrest for Marijuana Trafficking.

The following month multiple warrants were issued for Garcia's arrest out of Cameron County for Murder and Aggravated Assault following an incident in which he allegedly stabbed another man in Harlingen.

Anthony Gonzales

Anthony Gonzales is a native of Corpus Christi and is affiliated to the Texas Mexican Mafia gang.

In 1992, Gonzales was sentenced to 10 years in prison for Burglary of a Habitation. In 2001, he was convicted of Possession of a Controlled Substance and Evading Arrest Using a Vehicle.

In July 2008, he and multiple associates were allegedly involved in a shooting at a Corpus Christi residence, resulting in the death of one adult and the injury of two children. Subsequently warrants for Gonzales' arrest were issued out of Nueces County for Murder, Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, and Aggravated Assault Causing Serious Bodily Injury.

In August 2008, a parole warrant for his arrest was issued by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Carlos Alberto Gonzalez-Barahona

Carlos Alberto Gonzales-Barahona is affiliated with the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang and has ties to Houston. He is an El Salvadorian national and has been deported multiple times from the United States.

In 2010, he was convicted of Burglary of a Habitation after an incident in Harris County. In October 2013, he was deported from the United States back to El Salvador.

On June 18, 2017, Gonzalez-Barahona allegedly shot and killed his estranged girlfriend at their apartment located in northwest Houston. After the shooting, he reportedly fled the Harris County area and abandoned a pickup truck he was driving in Wharton County off of Hwy 59. His whereabouts since then are not known. Prior to abandoning the truck on June 20, he allegedly kidnapped the driver of the truck at gunpoint in Brazoria County.

On June 20, 2017, the Harris County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for Gonzalez-Barahona's arrest for Murder. On July 6, 2017, the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for his arrest for Aggravated Kidnapping.

Crime Stoppers of Houston is also offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the charging and/or arrest of Gonzalez-Barahona.

Margaret Lorrain Smith

Margaret Lorrain Smith is charged with hiring a man to kill her husband, George Smith, on Aug. 6, 2007. An investigation determined she lured him to Surfside Beach, Texas, late at night and left him sitting in the sand as the man she hired beat George to death with a metal object.

Smith and the man she hired were indicted for capital murder in September 2007. While her co-defendant was convicted, Smith has been on the run since Aug. 11, 2009, when she fled the Brazoria County area while on bond prior to the start of her trial.

She was last seen on video at a Walmart in the San Antonio area getting into a maroon four-door sedan, possibly a Lincoln Continental. In addition to the Texas Crime Stoppers reward of up to $7,500, a reward of $5,000 is also being offered through Brazoria County Crime Stoppers for information leading to Smith's arrest.

Joshua Lockett

Joshua Darnell Lockett is affiliated with the Bloods gang and has ties to Collin County, including the city of McKinney.

In October 2019, Lockett was convicted of Deadly Conduct-Discharge Firearm at Individual(s) and subsequently sentenced to two years confinement in TDCJ. Additionally, in October 2019, he was convicted of Evading Arrest/Detention and Assault Causing Bodily Injury and subsequently sentenced to sixty days confinement for each offense.

Lockett was discharged from TDCJ in 2021. He was last arrested in April 2023 by the Plano Police Department for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by Felon and subsequently bonded out. On July 5, 2023, the McKinney Police Department issued warrants for his arrest for Murder and Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.

In addition, warrants for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon and two counts of Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance have been issued out of Collin County for his arrest.

Johnnie Wilson

Johnny Wilson has ties to Houston, Texas, and also St. Landry Parish in Louisiana, including the Washington and Opelousas areas.

In 2019, Wilson was arrested by the Houston Police Department for Murder. He subsequently bonded out with an ankle monitor, which has since either been damaged or removed.

On February 23, 2023, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for Wilson's arrest for Murder.