Search for tiger on as ‘owner’ back in jail

Texas man was out on bond for a 2017 fatal shooting charge

15: While a Texas man who police allege is the owner of a tiger that frightened residents after it was seen briefly wandering around a Houston neighbourhood was ordered back behind bars on Friday, the animal’s whereabouts remain a mystery.

An all-day court hearing Friday didn’t reveal any new information on the tiger’s whereabouts as Houston police say about

300 tips they’ve so far received haven’t panned out. Police allege Victor Hugo Cuevas is the owner of the tiger, a 9-month old male named India, and he is facing a charge of evading arrest after authorities allege he fled from Houston officers who responded to a call about a dangerous animal on Sunday night.

After a court hearing in a separate case Cuevas, 26, is facing in neighbouring Fort Bend County, his attorney, Michael W. Elliott, reiterated his client doesn’t own the tiger. Elliott said he only knew the first name of the owner, that he has been working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to find India and that Cuevas only wants for the animal to be safe.

“We want to find India. Somebody knows where India is at. Hopefully the cat is still doing well,” Elliott said. At a separate news conference in Houston, police Cmdr. Ron Borza said some of the tips officers have received on the tiger’s possible location have been “a little bit crazy.”

“We know the group of people that are involved in the exotic animal trade here in Houston ... We have visited all of them and no luck so far,” Borza said. Investigators believe the tiger has likely been passed around between six and eight different locations in Houston in an effort to hide it but that the animal is probably still in the city, Borza said.

Carole Baskin, from the Netflix’s docuseries “Tiger King,” has offered a $5,000 reward for the tiger’s safe return.

At the time of his arrest on Monday for allegedly evading Houston police, Cuevas was already out on bond for a murder charge in a 2017 fatal shooting in Fort Bend County. Cuevas has maintained the shooting was self-defense, Elliott said.

Cuevas had been released on a separate bond for the evading arrest charge on Wednesday.

Fort Bend County prosecutor Christopher Baugh asked Cuevas be held without a bond for the murder charge, alleging the incident showed Cuevas “has a total disregard for the public safety.”

State District Judge Frank J. Fraley did not grant the request, but instead revoked Cuevas' current $125,000 bond and issued a new bond for $300,000. It was the fifth time that Cuevas' bond had been revoked in the murder case.

Borza said that Cuevas and his attorney have not cooperated with Houston police in the search for the tiger but ''maybe if he goes to jail he'd be more cooperative with us. We'll see how that goes.''