Repeat Fugitive With 30+ Arrests Remains Free On Multiple Bonds, Prompting Calls For Better Interjurisdictional Coordination

A Houston-area man wanted in California and with a decades-long arrest history continues to be released on bond across multiple Texas counties, prompting legal experts and community leaders to warn of systemic information‑sharing failures in the criminal justice system.

Authorities identified the suspect as Carlos Rusi, who, along with three others, was charged in 2022 in a string of alleged "bank jugging" thefts in Burbank, California, according to Fox 26. Law enforcement says Rusi skipped bond in July 2023 and was declared a fugitive in California. Local reporting by KPRC 2 and Fox News Digital details dozens of subsequent arrests and alleged crimes in Texas.

Rusi's reported criminal history includes more than 30 arrests and at least 26 mugshots dating to 2006. Records and prior reporting show multiple felony convictions and separate prison terms tied to robbery, organized criminal activity and drug offenses in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2018. Last year he accepted a plea agreement on robbery and evading arrest and was sentenced to five years of probation.

The Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024.

Recent Allegations And Releases

According to police accounts cited in local reporting, this year Rusi allegedly followed and robbed multiple bank customers in separate incidents. In July, officers say he followed a 71‑year‑old man from a bank to a coin dealer, shoved him to the ground and stole his belongings. Security-camera footage led investigators to a gray Volvo registered to a rental company; rental paperwork was reportedly in Rusi's mother's name, and investigators say past agreements suggest she rented vehicles her son later used in alleged crimes.

Police also say Rusi followed another person from a Bank of America in Fort Bend County and robbed them at gunpoint. In subsequent surveillance that month, he allegedly tailed several victims for roughly 28 miles, then broke into a vehicle at a gas station and grabbed a woman’s purse containing about $5,200 in cash; officers recovered the purse after arresting him.

Despite these allegations and an active California warrant, Rusi was released on bond multiple times: a $75,000 bond in Harris County related to the July theft, and, according to local reports, a $25,000 bond after a Montgomery County arrest later in the year. Local outlets also report additional arrests and alleged offenses (including a Walmart parking-lot theft and misdemeanor convictions for falsifying a drug test and displaying a fake handicap placard) while he remained on probation.

Carlos Rusi has been released on bond in multiple counties throughout Texas, despite having numerous prior convictions and a warrant for his arrest in California, according to FOX 26.

Experts And Community Reaction

“What jumps out is that this isn’t one bad call, it’s a chain of release decisions across jurisdictions,” said Bobby Taghavi, a Texas attorney and managing partner at Sweet James, who spoke to Fox News Digital. Taghavi emphasized that responsibility is shared across prosecutors, judges, probation departments and law enforcement to ensure out‑of‑state warrants and other risk factors are visible and acted upon.

“I’ve never in my life seen anything as absurd as this,” said Andy Kahan of Houston Crime Stoppers. “Shame on our criminal justice system for continuing to allow this defendant to roam our community and to steal our property and to hurt people.”

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office declined comment to Fox News Digital, citing pending cases. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Rusi’s attorney and the Texas Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Broader Concerns

Legal observers say the pattern of repeated releases for a defendant with an active out‑of‑state warrant suggests a breakdown in coordination rather than isolated errors. Taghavi warned that when the same person receives probation and bond decisions across multiple jurisdictions without a complete, consistently presented risk assessment, the problem is likely systemic.

As the case proceeds, officials and community leaders are urging improvements in real‑time information sharing, warrant verification and cross‑jurisdictional communication to prevent similarly alleged offenders from being repeatedly released while facing multiple charges.

Reporting sources: Fox 26, KPRC 2, Fox News Digital.