The reward for Johnny June Mason, Jr., 48, a Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender and this month’s featured fugitive, has been increased to $8,000 for information leading to his capture if the tip comes in during the month of April. Mason is wanted for failure to register as a sex offender and parole a violation. All tips are guaranteed to be anonymous.
Mason has ties to Houston (his last known address) and Louisiana, including the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas. In 1990, Mason was convicted in Louisiana of aggravated rape and aggravated crime against nature involving a 16-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Mason has a history of violating his parole and failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements, and he has been wanted since June 2016. For more information or updates in the event of his arrest, see his wanted bulletin at: http://www.dps.texas.gov/Texas10MostWanted/SexOffenderDetails.aspx?id=349.
Mason is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs approximately 150 pounds. He has a tattoo of Chinese characters on his left forearm and a scar on his forehead.
One offender from the Texas 10 Most Wanted Program is featured each month in hopes the higher reward money from the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division will generate additional tips. The higher reward amount will only be paid if the tip comes in the same month the fugitive is featured. So far in 2017, Texas Crime Stoppers has paid $15,000 in total rewards for anonymous tips that resulted in arrests.
To be eligible for the cash rewards, tipsters must provide information to authorities using one of the five following methods:
- Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
- Text the letters DPS – followed by your tip – to 274637 (CRIMES) from your cell phone.
- Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about, and then clicking on the link under their picture.
- Submit a Facebook tip at http://www.facebook.com/texas10mostwanted by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).
- Submit a tip through the DPS Mobile App. The app is currently available for iPhone users on the Apple App Store: (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/texas-dps/id902092368?mt=8) and for Android users on Google Play: (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microassist.texasdps&hl=en).
All tips are anonymous – regardless of how they are submitted, and tipsters will be provided a tip number instead of using a name.
DPS investigators work with local law enforcement agencies to select fugitives for the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive and Sex Offender lists. You can find the current lists – with photos – on the DPS website at http://www.dps.texas.gov/texas10mostwanted/.
Do not attempt to apprehend these fugitives; they are considered armed and dangerous.
(News release from the Texas DPS in Austin)
