Bedford man wanted for indecency with a child arrested in West Texas

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Published October 19, 2026 6:20 AM CDT

The Brief

    • Authorities located and arrested Joshua Smith, a wanted fugitive out of Bedford, Texas. 
    • Smith faces charges for indecency with a child. 
    • A multi-agency law enforcement task force found him in Odessa, Texas, and booked him into a local detention center. 

BEDFORD, Texas - Members of a West Texas task force arrested a wanted fugitive from Bedford on Thursday.

What we know:

On Oct. 15, members of the TAG Center - Permian Basin found Joshua Smith in the 4100 block of East 42nd Street in Odessa.

Authorities wanted Smith on a fugitive warrant for indecency with a child out of Bedford. 

Officers arrested Smith and booked him into the Midland County Detention Center.

What we don't know:

 Authorities did not release additional details regarding the original charges. 

The backstory:

The TAG Center - Permian Basin is made up of officers from multiple local, state, and federal agencies. 

The group includes members from the Midland County Sheriff's Office, Ector County Sheriff's Office, Midland Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Midland County District Attorney's Office.

Federal partners include the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso, the U.S. Marshals Service Western District of Texas, and the Drug Enforcement Administration in El Paso.

The Source: The information in this article comes from Texas Anti-Gang Center. 

Crime and Public SafetyTexas