Texas Firefighter Arrested in Online Sting

Aug. 12--An online sting operation resulted in the arrest of a Fort Worth firefighter on Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total of suspects arrested to 19.

Officers from the Johnson County Stop the Offender Special Crimes Unit and the Burleson Police Department arrested Eric Robert Anderson, 31, at about 5:30 p.m. near Old Town Burleson on a charge of online solicitation of a minor.

Anderson, a Mansfield resident, began working for the FWFD on Sept. 29, according to the Texas Commission on Fire Protection's website.

Officials from STOP, BPD, the Cleburne Police Department, Johnson County Sheriff's Office and Texas Attorney General's Office collaborated to conduct the online sting between July 13-16. Officers posed as 14- or 15-year-old girls in social media chat room. The suspects arrested so far allegedly initiated conversations with the "girls" and later traveled to Johnson County hoping to meet and engage in sex with them.

Although the initial operation concluded on July 16, local law enforcement officers have remained active and have since arrested three additional suspects.

Anderson allegedly initiated contact with who he believed to be a 15-year-old girl during the initial sting operation but allegedly told the "girl" he could not meet with her until later.

CPD and STOP officers an Aug. 6 arrested Oscar Garcia, 27, of Grand Prairie, in Cleburne on the same charge in the 100 block of Northridge Drive.

Garcia allegedly communicated for several days online and via text messages with who he believed to be a 15-year-old girl. Garcia allegedly drove to Cleburne to meet the girl and engage in sexual activity only to be met by officers instead.

All but one of the suspects arrested so far reside outside of Johnson County including one, David Jordan Zebuhr, 41, who allegedly flew from New Hampshire to Texas hoping to meet an underage girl.

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