There’s a Tiger and Suspected Murderer Driving Around Texas Together
This morning I saw the following video of a tiger wandering around a Houston, Texas neighborhood on Sunday and was highly intrigued. Then, I got busy and lost track of the story.
Since this morning, the story -- you know, the one about a loose freakin' tiger, has somehow gotten even more interesting.
The Bengal tiger in question is owned by a man in Houston who's currently out on bond on a murder charge from back in November 2020. The suspect, who has not yet been charged in Sunday's incident, was out on a $250,000 bond on a murder charge filed in November in Fort Bend County.
The story started on Sunday when the tiger was roaming the neighborhood. An off-duty Sherriff's Deputy was alerted and arrived on the scene to keep the peace.
While the officer was there, the owner realized his tiger was loose and came out to corral the kitty and lead it by its collar back inside. Moments later, the alleged murderer/tiger owner loaded up the big cat into his White Jeep Cherokee and took off as the cavalry arrived.
In the chaos of the police arriving, the Jeep eluded them.
"We're actively looking for him today,” said Ron Borza, commander of the Houston Police Department’s Major Offenders Division. "Obviously, if you see a Cherokee with a big tiger in it, it’d be good to call us."
Borza added that there were also reports that the suspect also owns multiple monkeys, which is not illegal in Houston if the monkey is under 30 pounds. He also clarified that owning the tiger in the city limits of Houston was a class C misdemeanor.
The suspect was leasing the home and the owner was seemingly unaware the man had a Bengal tiger living there.
Never a dull moment in Texas.