HOUSTON – The man seen with a tiger in a west Houston neighborhood was released from jail Monday after a judge revoked the bond in a 2017 murder case.
The family of Victor Cuevas paid a $300,000 bond over the weekend, according to his attorney. The 26-year-old was awaiting an ankle monitor prior to his release on Monday, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said.
Cuevas was released just after 1 p.m. on Monday.
Per the conditions of his bond, Cuevas must wear an ankle monitor and adhere to his 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew.
On May 24, 2021, at approximately 1:05 p.m., Victor Cuevas bonded out of the Fort Bend County Jail. pic.twitter.com/aNMBldg3zE
— FBCSO Texas (@FBCSO) May 24, 2021
Michael Elliott, the attorney representing Cuevas, said Monday that his client was innocent of evading arrest and murder.
“He’s been convicted of nothing and enjoys the presumption of innocence and we have from the very beginning steadfastly maintained our innocence not only in the evading arrest case in Harris County ... as well as, I think that will be shown in this murder case now which has now been set for Dec 8,” Elliott said.
Investigators said Cuevas was out on bond for a murder charge the night the tiger named India got loose on May 9. Cuevas fled from Houston police with the tiger but he was later arrested and charged with evading arrest, prompting prosecutors to request the bond be revoked on the murder charge, according to the district attorney’s office.
Two days later, Cuevas made bond in connection to the evading arrest charge and was released from a Fort Bend County Jail.
However, after a lengthy court appearance on May 14, a judge revoked the murder bond and ordered Cuevas back to jail. He has remained in jail since then.
According to the FBCSO, Cuevas had been booked in the Fort Bend County Jail on five other occasions for violation of his bond after the 2017 murder charge.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of India the tiger were unknown until Cuevas’ wife surrendered the exotic animal to Houston police and BARC on May 15. The next day, the animal was transferred to an animal sanctuary in North Texas.
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