Man seen fleeing Houston neighborhood with tiger bonds out of Fort Bend County jail

HOUSTON – The man who was seen fleeing with a tiger in a west Houston neighborhood has bonded out of the Fort Bend County Jail.

Officials said Victor Cuevas bonded out at approximately 2:40 p.m.

Wesley Wittig, the executive assistant for the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office, said he was not surprised Cuevas was released from jail Wednesday on the evading arrest charge because Cuevas has made previous bonds in the past. Cuevas had been booked in the Fort Bend County Jail on four other occasions for violation of his bond after the 2017 murder charge, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office.

“He is entitled to bond, that’s why he was given one and he’s entitled to make it,” Wittig said.

Wittig said his office had filed a motion Tuesday to revoke Cuevas’ bond.

“Our office filed a motion to revoke his bond on our case, the murder case, and the judge has not granted that motion yet, but instead, set it for a hearing on Friday.

Cuevas’ lawyer, Michael Elliott, said he and his client are working to find India the tiger.

“We are both very anxious and looking forward to doing everything we can do to find India. We want to find India.

Elliot said despite his client capturing the tiger and there being evidence that the tiger was inside of his client’s home and backyard, Cuevas does not own the tiger.

“We all love animals, including my client,” Elliot said. “We want to find India and we are going to work hard to do that.”

Elliot said that all questions regarding his client’s knowledge of the tiger will be answered during a bond hearing in Fort Bend County on Friday at 10 a.m.

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Cuevas was booked into the Fort Bend County Jail for evading arrest in a Motor Vehicle, and a bond was set at $50,000, in connection to a case with the Houston Police Department. His arraignment for that charge has not yet been scheduled in Harris County.

He was arrested at his parents’ house in Richmond Monday evening, according to his attorney.

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This 2017 booking photo provided by the Houston Police Department shows Victor Hugo Cuevas. Cuevas, who had been free on bond from a murder charge, was arrested Monday, May 10, 2021, after neighbors found a pet tiger wandering around a Houston neighborhood. (Houston Police Department via AP)
Tiger owner flees Houston police
A tiger seen in west Houston on May 9, 2021. (Copyright 2021 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)
Waller County Deputy Wes Manion exchanging words with the tiger's owner. (KPRC 2)
Sky 2 over house where tiger sighted

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