Owner of tiger on the loose in Houston is accused of murder

Police still looking for big cat spotted in videos after owner was arrested

A man believed to be the owner of a tiger which was spotted wandering around a Houston, Texas neighbourhood on Sunday had previously been arrested and bailed on a murder charge.

According to Houston police, the man named Victor Hugo Cuevas, 26, was taken back in custody and charged with felony evading arrest.

A video from Sunday shows the tiger with a collar roaming around the streets of a residential area in Houston, where he comes face-to-face with an armed man who can be heard asking the owner to take the tiger back inside.

The man was an off-duty Waller County sheriff’s deputy, the police said. Another man, allegedly the owner, can be seen taking the animal back inside after the confrontation.

After the reports of a loose tiger, when officers arrived Mr Cuevas put the animal in a white van and drove off, Houston police officer Ron Borza said during a news conference on Monday. 

Mr Cuevas got away after a brief pursuit, he said. However, police caught him after a search lasting several hours.

The officer said he was arrested in relation to a murder – the fatal shooting of a man outside a restaurant in neighbouring Fort Bend County – in November 2020, and was out on bond. Police are looking for the whereabouts of the Bengal tiger.

Mr Borza earlier said: “What I don’t want him to do is harm that tiger. We have plenty of places we can take that tiger and keep it safe and give it a home for the rest of its life."

Mr Cuevas’ attorney, Michael W Elliott, denied that his client was the owner or caretaker of the tiger. The attorney also said it was unclear to him if it was Mr Cuevas seen on videos of the incident.

“People are making a lot of assumptions in this particular case. Maybe he might be the hero out there who caught the tiger that was in the neighbourhood," Mr Elliott said.

Police said there were also two monkeys inside the house where Mr Cuevas lived, however, they were not sure if he was the owner.

Any animal under 30 pounds (13.5 kilograms) is legal to be kept as a pet in Houston. However, tigers are not allowed within the city limits. The Texas state law does not prohibit private ownership of tigers and other exotic animals.