Justice Department Makes First Arrest in BP Oil Spill

The U.S. Department of Justice made its first arrest Tuesday in its case against oil giant BP, arresting a former engineer of charges of obstruction of justice.

The Justice Deparment says 50-year-old Kurt Mix of Katy, Texas, is accused of destroying evidence. Mix allegedly destroyed a string of 200 text messages between himself and a BP supervisor in October 2010 that involved internal BP information about how efforts to cap the leaking well were failing.

Mix will make an initial appearance in federal court in Houston Tuesday afternoon.

The Deepwater Horizon, which was leased by BP, exploded the night of April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers and sparking the nation's worst offshore oil disaster. More than 200 gallons of crude oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico before the well was capped.