Wanted Texas gang member arrested in Windsor

A Houston man listed as one of Texas’ most wanted gang fugitives was arrested Monday morning at a Windsor hotel, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.

About a dozen Windsor police officers and Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies participated in the arrest of Paul Eugene Rasco, 45, a known member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, a white supremacist gang. Rasco was wanted on two arrest warrants involving assault, sheriff’s Sgt. Cecile Focha said Monday.

A Monday morning tip to police about a Texas gang fugitive in a room at the Hampton Inn launched the arrest effort. Law enforcement officers surrounded the hotel on Brooks Road South while firefighters and paramedics waited nearby.

Before contacting Rasco, officers made sure no one was inside the adjoining rooms and then called his room phone at about 11:20 a.m., ordering him to step outside, Focha said. He came out and was arrested without incident, she said.

A call to Hampton Inn management in Windsor on Monday was not returned.

Another man was detained during the incident, but it remained unclear Monday whether that second man was arrested or if he had any connection to the fugitive.

Rasco’s name and photo are on a gang fugitive list called StopHoustonGangs.org. The list names Rasco as an Aryan gang member and indicated he was wanted on at least one warrant for missing a court appearance in an assault case. The warrant was issued for him in 2014 by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, according to the Houston Police Department.

Focha declined to say how someone knew the wanted man was at the hotel. Why Rasco was in Windsor wasn’t known late Monday.

He will remain in custody in the Sonoma County Jail until his extradition to Texas, Focha said.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at ?521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter?@rossmannreport.