Crime Stoppers tips lead to arrest of two Most Wanted Fugitives in Texas

Staff Reports

AUSTIN – Two of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted offenders are back in custody following their recent arrests. Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive Paul Berry III, of Houston, was arrested April 11 in Houston. Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender John McMickings, of El Paso, was arrested April 14 in Georgia. Crime Stoppers rewards will be paid in the arrest of both men.

Paul Matthew Berry III, 56, was arrested at a house in north Houston by Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Special Agents assigned to the Houston Texas Anti-Gang (TAG) Violent Crime Squad, as well as TAG Troopers.

Berry had been wanted since June 2021, when the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a warrant for his arrest for a parole violation. The following month, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for Berry’s arrest for sexual assault of a child.

In 1988, Berry was convicted of aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping with intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually after an incident with a 25-year-old woman. He was sentenced to 60 years in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison. In 2008, Berry was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 20 years in a TDCJ prison. He was released on parole in May 2019. Berry was added to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List on Dec. 16, 2021. For more information, view his captured bulletin.

John Oliver Talmadge McMickings, 38, was arrested in rural Loganville, Ga., by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

He had been wanted since May 2021, when the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a warrant for McMickings for a parole violation. In October 2021, the El Paso District Attorney’s Office issued a warrant for his arrest for failure to register as a sex offender.

In 2012, McMickings was convicted of sexual assault of a child for an incident involving a 14-year-old girl and was initially sentenced to five years of probation. However, his probation was revoked in 2013, and McMickings was sentenced to 10 years in a TDCJ prison. He was then released on parole in August 2019. McMickings was added to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders List on Nov. 1, 2021. For more information, view his captured bulletin.

Texas Crime Stoppers, which is funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Commission, offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Fugitives or Sex Offenders. So far in 2022, DPS and other agencies have arrested 21 people off the lists, including six gang members and 14 sex offenders. In addition, $46,000 in rewards has been paid for tips that yielded arrests.

To be eligible for cash rewards, tipsters MUST provide information to authorities using one of the following three methods:

• Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
• Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about then clicking on the link under their picture.
• Submit a Facebook tip by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).

 All tips are anonymous — regardless of how they are submitted — and tipsters will be provided a tip number instead of using a name.