Operation Falcon-2007 Nets Thousands of Fugitives
Arizona Free Press
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Three-Month Operation Targets Communities, Violent Offenders Nationwide
WASHINGTON The U.S. Marshals Service, assisted by federal, state and local law enforcement, arrested 6,406 fugitives and cleared 8,219 warrants in 27 operations across 22 states as part of Operation FALCON-2007 (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally), Acting Deputy Attorney General Craig Morford, and U.S. Marshals Service Director John Clark announced. Starting in Baton Rouge and concluding in Philadelphia, Operation FALCON-2007 brought together the talents and resources of 22 federal agencies, 70 state agencies, 206 county sheriffs departments and 242 police departments, to again make the program a success.
For this year's FALCON operation, the fourth of its kind, the U.S. Marshals Service stepped away from its traditional week-long national fugitive sweep, and instead orchestrated a series of specifically targeted citywide and regional fugitive apprehension efforts beginning in June and continuing for four months. Using information obtained from a variety of sources such as the Department of Justice Safe Communities Program, the Gang Targeting Enforcement Coordination Center (GangTECC) and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), 27 areas were identified and targeted for fugitive apprehension and removal. A complete listing of areas targeted can be found at www.usmarshals.gov/falcon07.
Since its inception in 2005, Operation FALCON has made over 36,500 arrests and cleared over 45,000 warrants. It continues to be the largest and most successful fugitive apprehension effort in U.S. Marshals history.
In Operation FALCON-2007, as in prior operations, an emphasis was placed on the capture of violent gang members and sex offenders. Nationwide, the operation arrested 300 gang members and 542 sex offenders. Among those brought in:
¢ William Caldwell was arrested on July 10, 2007 in the Middle District of Louisiana by a team of investigators participating in Operation FALCON-2007. The West Feliciana Parish (La.) Sheriff's Office wanted Caldwell for 192 counts of molestation of a juvenile and 192 counts of sexual battery after he allegedly molested a female minor over a seven-year -period. Investigators identified Caldwell's location, responded to that site, and safely took him into custody.
¢ Casey Smith, a documented member of the "Gangster Disciple 99" gang, surrendered to authorities in St. Louis, Mo., on July 12, 2007, after a team of investigators assigned to Operation FALCON-2007 in the Eastern District of Missouri notified his family that they were pursuing him. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department wanted Smith for statutory rape of a victim under fourteen, as well as for child molestation. The St. Louis County Police Department also wanted Smith for assault, trespassing, and other charges. Smith has an extensive criminal history of more than twenty-nine arrests for rape, sexual assault, child molestation, statutory rape, assault, narcotics violations, burglary, theft, and probation violations.
U.S. Marshals Director Clark has overseen three of the four FALCON operations since becoming head of the agency in March 2006. "I continue to be impressed with the remarkable results that can be achieved when all of law enforcement comes together," said Director Clark. "What started three years ago as a promising concept has materialized into the most effective fugitive apprehension effort in the long history of the U.S. Marshals.
In addition to the numerous gang members and sex offenders apprehended during Operation FALCON-2007, 73 homicide arrests were made and 328 persons were apprehended on weapons charges. Authorities also seized 249 weapons.
The concept behind broad, interagency law enforcement operations such as Operation FALCON evolved largely from smaller, local/regional task forces. Groups such as these have historically combined local, state and federal agencies to find and apprehend area fugitives. The U.S. Marshals adopted such interagency teamwork in the early 1980s, when they combined their resources and expertise in fugitive apprehension with the local knowledge and unique insight of officers on the street level. Operation FALCON brought this concept to an unprecedented, national scale in 2005.
In order to provide participating agencies with broader jurisdictional authority, all state and local law enforcement officers are sworn in as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals immediately prior to the start of a FALCON operation. Throughout the course of the local operations, this special authority from the U.S. Marshals Service empowered all local and state law enforcement officers to cross traditional lines of jurisdiction to track down and arrest targeted fugitives.