100+ Arrests in 4-Day Stockton Sweep, Including 5 from Most Wanted List

FOX40 News
10:55 a.m. PDT, July 25, 2011

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY—
The U.S. Marshal's Office along with the Stockton Police say 117 career criminals have been arrested in a four day operation dubbed "Operation Double Play." The operation targeted 15 primary suspects involved in murder, kidnapping, home invasions, robberies and drug offenses in Stockton. The raid captured six of them.

"These consisted of the most violent offenders. They're wanted for homicide, attempted homicide and robbery," said Vern Newsom, Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District.

Also involved in the operation….Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the State Department of Corrections and the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department. Some of the arrests were made in Modesto, Tracy and Roseville. The Stockton Police Department says given budget cutbacks, it would have been nearly impossible to find and arrest suspects without the help of outside agencies.

"It fits perfectly in the way I think the future, at least short term future for law enforcement (will be) across this country," said Stockton Police spokesman Pete Smith.

Newsom says each agency contributes its own resource and intelligence assets to an operation that included 60 sworn officers from the different agencies. He says it's the job of U.S. Marshal's to catch dangerous criminals and repeat offenders and that they'll continue such operations in other cities in the district that runs from Fresno to the Oregon border.

Stockton completed a separate operation with the ATF just days earlier that helped arrest key members of a gang that had terrorized central Stockton. But Smith says the operations are very helpful in making the community safer, they don't replace the every day resources that were cut from the department budget.

"These are situations where you put a lot of resources in that you can't sustain. You can't go out and do this every day," said Smith.

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