MARCH 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 3

AROUND THE COUNTRY
HANSEN GETS HIS
MAN AFTER 30 YRS.
Galveston County Lt. Tommy Hansen finally arrested a
man who slit his girlfriend’s three decades ago.
GALVESTON — It may have
taken three decades, but a Tommy
Hansen isn’t one to give up
on anything and after nearly
30-years he finally got his man;
Luis Calderon is once again behind
bars in Galveston County.
Calderon was wanted for kidnapping
and attempted murder,
accused of slitting his girlfriend’s
throat and leaving her for dead
in 1991.
Calderon arrived at the Galveston
County jail last month,
escorted by Galveston County
Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Tommy
Hansen - the cold case detective
who’s been on top of the
case for 30 years - and members
of the warrant division.
“Every investigator throughout
their career has cases that haunt
you and we all have several of
those and I have a number of
them,” Hansen said. “This was
a horrific crime and it was a
tedious process of locating him.
We felt for many years that he
was still in the states but as time
progressed, our investigation
After 30 years, Lt. Galveston County Lt. Tommy Hansen
escorted fugitive Luis Calderon back to jail.
led us, thanks to records we got
from ICE, to El Salvador.”
Calderon first went on the run
in 1991 after skipping out on bail
in the case involving the kidnapping
and attempted murder
of Diane Sanchez, his girlfriend
at the time. A hot shot driver,
Earl Pugh, happened to find the
severely injured woman on the
side of the road only because he
was turning around to head back
to Galveston because of truck
problems.
Officials said Calderon was able
to get out of jail because a judge
granted a bond reduction request
that allowed him to be released
even as prosecutors argued that
he was a flight risk.
In 2019, Hansen finally tracked
Calderon down in El Salvador,
where the suspect had family
connections. Still, it would be almost
another year before Hansen
would be able to get Calderon
into custody.
With the assistance of the FBI,
the US Department of Justice,
Interpol and the Immigration
and Customs Enforcement and
Galveston County, Calderon was
apprehended in El Salvador on
Feb. 11, 2020.
Calderon was jailed in El
Salvador and has been awaiting
extradition back to the United
States ever since.
Hansen said the process just
to get Calderon back into Texas
was an ordeal in itself. He explained
they had to go through a
lot of “red tape” and credits Sen.
Ted Cruz and President Nayib
Bukele, the president of El Salvador.
Sen Cruz’s Office sent the following
statement: “I am thankful
to President Bukele, the government
of El Salvador and the
Galveston County Sheriff’s Office
for their work in facilitating
Calderon’s transfer. This sends
a clear message to any fugitive
of the law: you will be brought
to justice. Today is a testament
to the importance of America’s
bilateral regional partnerships
grounded in mutual interest of
the apprehension of this individual
and the appreciation of the
rule of law.”
A bond hearing was held for
Calderon Tuesday morning, at
which time, the judge placed a
$1 million bond for each charge.
Hansen said, while on the run,
Calderon started a new life for
himself. He is now 56 years old.
“It looks like he had a normal
life. He had a family, had two kids
he raised. His life was in motion,”
Hansen explained. Meanwhile, his
victim lived on edge, not knowing
if she would ever be safe.
Hansen said they did not
“breathe easily” until they knew
he was on the plane and heading
back to Texas. He said they did
not notify the victim until they
knew things were completely
secure and spoke with her again
two minutes before holding a
press conference.
With the most recent news
regarding Calderon, his ex-girlfriend
- a survivor in every sense
of the word - said she can now
sleep at night.
22 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 23