Thread: Thousands of violent repeat offenders arrested in nationwide sweep

Thousands of violent repeat offenders arrested in nationwide sweep


In this March 24, 2015, file photo, Deputy Atty. Gen. nominee Sally Yates testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington.
(Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)


Del Quentin Wilber

Federal investigators and local police arrested more than 8,000 fugitives wanted on charges ranging from murder to rape during a recent six-week sweep in some of the nation's most crime-ravaged cities, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

Deputy Atty. Gen. Sally Yates said at a press conference in Washington that the U.S. Marshals Service and local police nabbed more than 500 fugitives on murder charges and another 946 accused of sex offenses. At least 600 alleged gang members were also taken into custody, she said.

The average suspect, Yates said, had a rap sheet of at least seven prior arrests and three convictions for violent crimes.

Yates said deputy U.S. marshals and local police focused on capturing repeat offenders who have demonstrated a proclivity for violence and who resided in 12 cities, including Chicago, Baltimore, Oakland and Compton.

The operation, she said, “was designed to help our local communities across this country combat violent crime by getting the most dangerous criminals and repeat offenders off the streets.”

Yates was joined at the press conference by Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, whose city has been battling a major spike in deadly violence. Last year, the city recorded its deadliest year on a per-capita basis when it tallied 344 killings.

“We have violent repeat offenders who kill again and again,” Davis said. “The impact of getting them off the street as quickly as possible is paramount in a city like Baltimore.”

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...323-story.html

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For Immediate Release Contact:
March 23, 2016 U.S. Marshals Service Office of Public Affairs (202) 307-9065

U.S. Marshals Service National Operation Nets More Than 8,000 Fugitives

Operation Violence Reduction12 Nabs Most Dangerous Criminals


Washington - Today, Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates and U.S. Marshals Service Deputy Director David Harlow announced that for the second consecutive year, the U.S. Marshals Service has conducted a high-impact national fugitive apprehension initiative focusing on the country’s most violent offenders. This six-week initiative, called Operation Violence Reduction12 (Operation VR12), resulted in the arrest of 8,075 gang members, sex offenders and other violent criminals.


“Through Operation VR-12, over 8,000 violent fugitives who preyed on our communities were tracked down, arrested and put behind bars,” said Deputy Attorney General Yates.

“Thanks to the strategic and focused efforts of the U.S. Marshals Service and their law enforcement partners, our nation’s streets are now rid of over 500 accused murderers, 600 gang members and nearly 1,000 sex offenders. Fugitives initiated gun battles, forced barricaded standoffs, assaulted officers and did everything they could to evade arrest – but our Deputy Marshals, together with their law enforcement partners, stood firm and succeeded in capturing the bad guys.”


“We applied a strategically focused approach to locate and apprehend the nation’s most dangerous fugitives,” said Deputy Director Harlow. “By removing these violent offenders from the streets, the communities they preyed upon can immediately feel more secure.

Operation VR12 was about using our expertise and law enforcement partnerships to significantly impact our communities by focusing on the worst of the worst violent criminals.”


While Operation VR12 was conducted nationwide in all 94 federal judicial districts, U.S. Marshals focused special attention on 12 selected locations experiencing upticks in violent crime: Baltimore; Brooklyn, New York; Camden, New Jersey; Chicago; Compton, California; Fresno, California; Gary, Indiana; Milwaukee; New Orleans; Oakland, California; Savannah, Georgia; and Washington, D.C.


In order to have the greatest impact on violent crime, Operation VR12 focused on fugitives who had three or more prior felony arrests for crimes such as murder, attempted murder, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, abduction/kidnapping, weapon offenses, sexual assault, child molestation and narcotics. Operation VR12 investigators increased their focus on fugitives accused of sex crimes and on the recovery of missing children.


Between Feb. 1 and March 11, the U.S. Marshals Service used its multi-jurisdictional investigative authority and fugitive task force network to arrest 648 gang members and others wanted on charges including 559 for homicide; and 946 for sexual offenses. In addition, investigators seized 463 firearms, $390,360 in currency and more than 71 kilograms of illegal narcotics. Also during the operation, investigators recovered 17 children who had been abducted and reported missing.


Notable arrests:
Blake Edwards Fitzgerald and Brittany Nicole Harper were the focus of a multi-state investigation that received national media attention. Dubbed a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, Fitzgerald and Harper were wanted in Missouri, Georgia, Alabama and Florida for multiple charges including kidnapping, armed robbery, burglary and firearms violations. After leading authorities on a multi-day, cat-and-mouse chase and two high-speed pursuits, the duo was located in Pensacola, Florida, on Feb. 5. Fitzgerald was mortally wounded in an exchange of gunfire with officers, while Harper sustained non-life threatening gunshot wounds.


Sabino Avila, a documented member of the Two Sixer street gang, was wanted by the Chicago Police Department for home invasion and rape. On Feb. 9, Avila allegedly forced entry into the home of a 54-year-old woman, tied her up and sexually assaulted her. Local authorities asked U.S. Marshals for assistance in locating and apprehending the suspect. He was arrested without incident in Chicago on Feb. 14.


Carl Cooper was wanted by the Baltimore City Police Department for allegedly shooting two elderly siblings in front of a busy shopping center. He was named “Public Enemy #1” by Police Commissioner Kevin Davis. Operation VR12 investigators arrested Cooper in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on March 4.
“Fugitives have a propensity to commit violent criminal acts posing danger to communities and plaguing neighborhoods where we live and work.” said Deputy Director Harlow. “Working with our federal, state and local partners, enforcement initiatives like Operation VR12 severely cripple these criminal activities.”


The concept behind interagency law enforcement operations such as Operation VR12 evolved largely from regional and district task forces. Since the 1980s, the U.S. Marshals Service has combined their resources and expertise with local, state and federal agencies to find and apprehend dangerous fugitives. Operation VR12 continued this tradition.

Operation VR12 Photos
Operation VR12 B-roll
District VR12 News Releases:

• Southern District of Florida
• District of New Hampshire
• District of New Mexico
• Middle District of Pennsylvania
• Western District of Pennsylvania
• Eastern District of Texas
• Eastern District of Virginia
  
  • Alexandria
  • Norfolk
  • Richmond
  
  
• District of Vermont
• Northern District of West Virginia

http://www.usmarshals.gov.
####
America’s Oldest Federal Law Enforcement Agency


http://www.usmarshals.gov/news/chron/2016/032316.htm

I would like to know if the individuals arrested were U.S. citizen criminals or were they part of the 66,000 illegal alien criminals Obama let free from our jails to commit
more crimes in our communities?

Originally Posted by lorrie

I would like to know if the individuals arrested were U.S. citizen criminals or were they part of the 66,000 illegal alien criminals Obama let free from our jails to commit
more crimes in our communities?

Most of them are most likely citizens or I.C.E. would have been more involved in these sweeps.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Most of them are most likely citizens or I.C.E. would have been more involved in these sweeps.

That's what I figured.

U.S. Marshals arrest 13,000 in sweep targeting ‘worst’ violent offenders


Heavily armed U.S. Marshals stand guard outside federal court Thursday, April 2, 2015, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) ** FILE ** more >

By Andrea Noble - The Washington Times - Wednesday, March 23, 2016

The U.S. Marshals Service arrested more than 13,000 individuals with open warrants as part of a national operation aimed at targeting the “worst of the worst” violent, repeat offenders.

The Justice Department announced the results of the six-week fugitive sweep Wednesday, which targeted individuals wanted for crimes like homicides, sex assaults and aggravated assaults.

Dubbed Operation Violence Reduction, the sweep focused on 12 cities currently combatting upticks in violent crime, including Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and New Orleans.

“This was not a dragnet-type operation designed to arrest anyone with an outstanding warrant,” said Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. “It was focused and targeted. That’s because we know that the majority of violence in our communities can usually be traced to a relatively small number of bad actors.”

Officials said the operation, which was up and running from Feb. 1 to March 11, brought in 8,045 fugitives who were targeted because of open warrants for violent crimes and another 5,446 fugitives who were arrested in the course of the operations.

Among those arrested, 559 were wanted for homicides and 946 for sex offenses, and 648 were known gang members.

In Baltimore alone, 148 fugitives — including 23 people wanted for murder — were arrested as part of the sweep.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said the effort was important in the ongoing drive to restore confidence in the police force. He noted that the department is seeing “encouraging results in the homicide closure rate” so far this year and that witnesses are coming forward more often to provide tips about crimes.

“That is thanks in no small part to the rehabilitation that is in progress with the relationship between police and the community,” Commissioner Davis said. “We told folks in Baltimore that 2016 was going to be a different year.”

Protests and riots erupted in April after the police-custody death of Freddie Gray. Six Baltimore Police officers are set to stand trial later this year in connection with his death.

According to the Justice Department, those arrested nationwide as part of the sweep averaged a total of seven prior arrests and three prior convictions each.

Despite the fact that the habitual offenders were back out on the street after, Ms. Yates said she did not believe the criminal histories highlighted any breakdown in the prosecution of repeat offenders.

Instead, she said the warrant sweep program was ensuring that the Justice Department focused resources on “defendants who really are having a significant negative impact on the safety of our communities.”

“That doesn’t mean that these folks shouldn’t and aren’t being prosecuted,” Ms. Yates said.

No law enforcement officials were killed or seriously wounded during the warrant sweep operation, but the operation wasn’t without incident. U.S. Marshals officials said six fugitives were killed in shootouts with law enforcement and five others committed suicide during the operations.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ent-offenders/

I.C.E. News Release

TOP STORY

ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL

03/25/2016

Cold case arrest highlights cooperation between ICE and U.S. Marshals Service




A fugitive recently arrested in Houston, Texas, for the 2009 rape of a 13-year-old girl has been remanded into the custody of the Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) on a felony warrant and is awaiting extradition to Virginia.

Following a lead from the United States Marshals Service (USMS), Deputy U.S. Marshals and officers from ICE ERO Houston – Fugitive Operations Team located and arrested Efren Cruz-Nunez, a citizen of Honduras who entered the United States in 1998.

Cruz-Nunez is now removable based on his criminal convictions; in addition to the rape for which he was recently arrested, he also has a conviction for larceny dating back to 2009, and was arrested for soliciting a prostitute.

One of Virginia’s Most Wanted fugitives, the case received extensive press coverage when the Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit requested the public’s assistance in locating Cruz-Nunez. Because of a lack of leads regarding his whereabouts the case eventually went cold. In late 2015, the case was assigned to the USMS, who then reached out to ICE ERO for help developing fresh leads.

Through detailed target analysis, ERO academy instructor Marco Coloma helped develop information indicating Cruz-Nunez was potentially living in Houston, Texas under the alias Anthony Sanchez. ERO also associated Cruz-Nunez with a second sex offense on a minor in 2012 in Houston, Texas, under the name Anthony Sanchez; however, he was not arrested for the offense because of lack of evidence.

After several weeks of investigation and surveillance, Houston ERO and USMS deputies located Cruz-Nunez at a Houston address where he was arrested without incident March 3, 2016.

This arrest is the culmination of months of investigative work and serves as an excellent example of law enforcement cooperation between ERO and USMS.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/co...rshals-service

Drug Leader in US Marshals' Custody in RGV

Posted: Mar 25, 2016 10:43 AM PDT
Updated: Mar 25, 2016 10:43 AM PDT

BROWNSVILLE – A drug leader was finally captured along the border in Matamoros, after being wanted for years.

A few days ago, 39-year-old Edgar “Ewok” Hinojosa was in federal custody in Laredo. He’s now back in the Rio Grande Valley.

The U.S. Marshals were in charge of the transfer.

The date and time of the operation wasn’t made public, due to the security measures.

Hinojosa was a top leader of the Gulf Cartel, an organization that operates just along the border.

Hinojosa was wanted for multi-million drug distribution. He operated a narcotics trafficking organization in areas from Brownsville to Houston.

His organization would then transport millions of dollars from the U.S. to the Gulf Cartel.

Authorities planned for Hinojosa to be kept at the Cameron County Jail. Some surrounding residents voiced their concerns about keeping an inmate of that caliber so close by.

Hinojosa is currently in the custody of U.S. Marshals. They’re not releasing the exact location of the former drug leader.

They said it’s for the community’s safety and prevent any attempts of an escape.

http://www.krgv.com/story/31566900/d...custody-in-rgv

3/28/16

Immigration agents arrest more than 1,100 people during anti-gang operation