HOUSTON – A judge has revoked the bond for a man seen with a tiger in a west Houston neighborhood last Sunday.
Victor Cuevas, 26, left the courtroom in handcuffs and was booked into the Fort Bend County jail on Friday.
Police said Cuevas was out on bond for a murder charge the night the tiger named India got loose. Cuevas is facing a charge of evading arrest in connection with the tiger, prompting prosecutors to request the bond be revoked on the murder charge, according to the district attorney’s office.
The judge set a new bond on the murder charge for $300,000.
“Of course we would’ve preferred it to have been higher but I think that we’re satisfied with the judge’s decision,” said Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton.
Defense attorney Michael Elliott spoke with reporters after the decision was handed down.
“This is not exactly the result that we were hoping for but at the same time, it’s not a terrible result either,” Elliott said.
On Friday, Elliott released photographs and a video that he said show India with Cuevas.
“You’ll see that Victor loved this cat immensely, treated it fantastically, took very good care of it,” Elliott said.
The big unanswered question: where is the tiger now?
“Somebody knows where India’s at,” Elliott said. “India is out there.”
According to Elliott, Cuevas did not own the tiger but was a caretaker who took the animal to its owner after it was spotted out in the neighborhood. So who is the owner?
“I think the owner’s hiding under a rock right now because worldwide attention is looking for him and India,” Elliott said.
Elliott said Cuevas met the owner while purchasing a dog. The defense attorney also said the male tiger would come to visit a couple of times a month. However, the most recent visit ended differently last weekend when the animal was able to get loose.
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