Tiger still on loose as caretaker faces bond hearing in killing
The focus of an intensifying search in Houston is on India, a 9month-old male tiger, who may not be loose on the streets but whose well-being worries Houston authorities.
The name, age and gender of the wild cat were disclosed Tuesday as authorities scrambled to find the animal and to keep the man linked to the exotic cat jailed following years of bond violations.
The tiger’s purported caretaker, Victor Hugo Cueveas, was arrested Monday in connection to a Fort Bend County murder case. His mother on Tuesday said she was unsure of the animal’s whereabouts. She said she had never seen the striped feline.
“We have no clue,” Norma Strauss said in a brief phone call.
Cueveas’ lawyer, Michael Elliott, said his client was not the tiger’s owner. He instead divulged the name of a man, whom the Houston Chronicle is not identifying, he believes is the rightful owner.
The tiger, Elliott said, is a juvenile male named India.
A Fort Bend constable’s deputy on Tuesday morning cruised down a street in Richmond where Strauss lives, pausing at the residence where Cuevas was apprehended the previous night. Residents in the upscale suburban neighborhood said they were surprised about the arrest and their neighbor’s connection to the tiger, saying it was a good reminder to be vigilant.
The tiger scaled a fence at a west Houston home, where it was
being cared for, in the Energy Corridor on Sunday and shocked neighbors who saw the young cat lounging in the grass. Cuevas and another person had been living in the rental home for about a year, neighbors said.
The discovery led to a viral video showing the tiger approaching a pistol-packing neighbor, an off-duty Waller County deputy. A man later identified as Cuevas rushes out of the home in the 1100 block of Ivy Wall Drive, exchanges words with the deputy and then leaves with the tiger in a white Jeep Cherokee as police arrive. He was later charged in Harris County with evading arrest.
Cuevas, who remains jailed, is scheduled for a bond hearing Friday in Fort Bend County, records show. The judge set the bail on the Harris County evading charge at $50,000 should he manage to bond out of the Richmond jail.
Fort Bend prosecutors on Tuesday were poised to file their fifth motion to revoke his bond in a 2017 murder case, with court papers outlining several bond violations — including an arrest
“A tiger roaming around in a residential neighborhood is what nightmares are made of. The tiger is a victim in this as well.” Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton
last November in Sealy — dating back to 2018.
Records show Sealy police officers arrested Cuevas on a felony evading arrest charge — and a misdemeanor driving with a suspended license charge. Police accused him of fleeing two officers in an ATV on Texas 36 and nearly causing a wreck during the Nov. 7 incident.
Cuevas hopped off the four-wheeler and bolted after it got stuck in the mud, according to the police report. Police caught up him elsewhere.
“Victor was wet and covered in mud and scratches from running through the brush,” the officer wrote.
His bond was revoked about two weeks later in Fort Bend County and he was arrested. A judge set bail at $125,000 and he posted bond the following month. Records show Cuevas listed his mother’s home as his primary residence.
Prior bond revocations include instances where Cuevas’ GPS ankle monitor lost power for more than 24 hours, when he missed curfew and when he left Fort Bend County to visit a Katy shooting range. He is prohibited from being around firearms, weapons or ammunition.
Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton said Cuevas has had multiple bond violations and that prosecutors contested each bond in court.
“He’s had multiple opportunities to conform his behavior,” Middleton said. “Pre-trial bond is not a punishment … but he has shown a pattern.”
His arrest on Monday partially stemmed from bond condition violations established after the Sealy incident.
Cuevas was ordered to remain at home from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m., records show.
The night of the tiger sighting, Cuevas fled his rental around 8:30 p.m. after corralling the tiger into the Jeep. By not returning to his home that night, he violated the conditions of his bond, records continued.
He is also accused of fleeing two Houston police officers at a high rate of speed.
Court documents show Cuevas bolted in the Jeep as the officers walked toward the vehicle, with the tiger inside.
The officers were forced to run back to their patrol vehicle and chase after Cuevas, records show. The driver refused to stop “as they continued to give chase through multiple blocks.” The officers then lost sight of the vehicle.
Houston police officials said their search for the tiger continues.
Noelle Almrud, director of the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch animal sanctuary in North Texas, said HPD contacted her organization Monday to discuss finding a home for the tiger, if and when it’s found.
Houston city ordinances prohibit ownership of tigers and other wild animals, with exceptions for animal shelters, hospitals and zoos. The rules in unincorporated Harris County are looser because people are allowed to own some unconventional animals depending on the proximity to a school or child care facility, according to the county’s Dangerous Wild Animal Regulations.
In Cuevas’ case, police said he would be in violation of city code — a Class C misdemeanor — for having the tiger.
“My goal is for local authorities to find the tiger before he/she gets hurt or hurts anyone else,” Almrud said in an email.
Middleton also noted that the tiger has added a bizarre element to the unrelated murder case.
“A tiger roaming around in a residential neighborhood is what nightmares are made of,” the district attorney said. “The tiger is a victim in this as well. I’m sure the tiger would rather be in his own natural habitat or in an environment more suitable for the animal.”