409 fugitives arrested in joint law enforcement operation

Published Thursday, July 9, 2009 | 11:25 a.m.

Updated Thursday, July 9, 2009 | 6:46 p.m.

Arrests

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Local, state and federal law enforcement agents announced today that they have arrested 409 violent criminals since June 1 in a joint effort to get felony fugitives off the street.

The arrests were a result of the Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally program, known as Operation FALCON. The month-long joint operation netted one homicide arrest and dozens of arrests for narcotics, sex offenses, abuse, burglary and gang-related crimes.

The operation was integral in several high-profile apprehensions this summer, including the arrest of Dwayne Romero, an alleged gang member wanted for murder, and Richard Dean Stephen, a school bus driver arrested June 16 on seven counts of lewdness with a minor under the age of 14 and three counts of sexual assault, officials said.

“My office looks forward to prosecuting as many of these individuals as we possibly can, specifically the most violent offenders who belong behind bars. This operation was the first step to making that happen,” said Gregory Brower, U.S. Attorney for Nevada.

The June effort was FALCON’s largest and most successful operation in Nevada, U.S. Marshal Gary Orton said. Officials said they were able to draw upon experiences from past sweeps to pull more fugitives off the street this year.

“We had more agencies participating and I think just by the nature of having the operation yearly, we (are) able to move forward very year and we have a tremendous amount of support,” Nevada Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Roxanna Lea Irwin said.

Enforcement officials said they were able to capitalize on increased manpower and organization to make all 409 arrests without significant incident. Officials said no shots were fired and no agents or suspects were killed.

Brower commended the courage and hard work of the agents who execute the operation.

“Even what we might call routine arrests are, of course, a potentially lethal situation,” Brower said. “This year’s operation was once again performed without any shots fired, without any fatalities, but again, let me emphasize that’s not because these are not dangerous operations. They are, and the men and women who execute them … need to be commended for their service.”

Lee and others also commended the extensive preparation and behind-the-scenes work that went into the arrests. Officials said preparation for the June sweep started six weeks out, with agents going through more than 6,000 warrants and targeting the most dangerous and elusive violent felony offenders. The process for tracking down and arresting the fugitives is expansive as well, with everyone from uniformed officers to in-the-know taxi drivers contributing to the operation, officials said.

“A lot of people think to arrest a criminal you just go and knock on his door. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, and that’s where we rely on our sources (and) on officer training to get this accomplished,” Irwin said.

The U.S. Marshals Services provides much of the funding and research tools to help local and state law enforcement agencies target the most violent local fugitives. Officials said 89 percent of the arrests stemmed from state or local warrants.

This was the sixth incarnation of Operation FALCON, which is led by the U.S. Marshals Service and has resulted in 91,086 arrests and cleared 117,874 warrants nationwide since it was launched in 2005, officials said.

“The goal of Operation FALCON is simple – to make communities safer,” John F. Clark, director of the U.S. Marshals Service, said in a statement. “Each time we wrap up a FALCON operation in any location, there are less dangerous individuals – and fewer threats to the community – than before we arrived there. That is very gratifying.”

Many local enforcement agencies partnered with the U.S. Marshals for the effort, including Metro Police, the Boulder City Police Department, the City of Las Vegas Detention and Enforcement, the Henderson Police Department, the Clark County District Attorney’s Office and the Clark County School District Police Department.

Officials said they hope to conduct another sweep sometime this later year, most likely around Halloween, which is when they typically target child predators and sex offenders.

“We have a large number of fugitives who haven’t been located and we’ll continue to work on those,” U.S. Marshal Gary Orton said.

Discussion: 9 comments so far…

By stevem

7/9/09 at 12:14 p.m.

Suggest removal

see what can be accomplished when cops actually do their job instead of shaking down people for having the tags on their cars expired?

north las vegas is a cesspool of crime. start cleaning house there and move outward.
By steve7952

7/9/09 at 12:17 p.m.

Suggest removal

If they screened the names at local shelters they can chaulk up more fugitives checking in under alias's. The requirement to register with their Social Security number is a joke. Metro spot check local Motel's, Apartments; why not the shelters?
By goingbust

7/9/09 at 12:25 p.m.

Suggest removal

Now if they could pick up the 10,000 or so people that have committed felony mortgage fraud over the last few years...
By ivegotcha

7/9/09 at 1:02 p.m.

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oh with all the bad press on metro, guess they should throw this out there for us to read. How many will walk because of thier tactics.
By Auslander

7/9/09 at 2:46 p.m.

Suggest removal

Take four hundred violent fugitives off the street and what do you get in return? Complaints, whining, wheezing and armchair law enforcement advice.

Well, here's one taxpayer who just wants to say thanks for a job well done.
By starrynite7

7/10/09 at 5:43 a.m.

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Auslander: Well said! I agree with you a 100% and I can't wait for the Halloween shakedown when they get the sex offenders and child molesters off the streets! Good job Metro!!
By acesbet

7/10/09 at 8:03 a.m.

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I applaude law enforcement for their efforts.
California is releasing a lot of worthless individuals for lack of prison space. Yet we have a big desert that could be developed into a tent prisons. Arizona has proven it works. Too many prisoners on "Death Row". Reinstate the "Death Penalty". They already have had their day in court. One every day until they are all gone. ACLU smoke that.
By rejco100

7/10/09 at 11:29 a.m.

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So they got 4 "Dangerous" RELEASED felon for not meeting their parole officer; he was not doing anything for them anyways, and arrested 405 FTA for jaywalking, open container, sleeping outside, throwing those Hooker flyers on the ground, Don't you feel safe? Look at all the murders and assault that happened last night when all these BAD GUYS were already locked up!
By fremmasmind

7/10/09 at 4:33 p.m.

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Kudos for all the law enforcement officers who were a part of this well coordinated operation. You people got alot of bad guys off the street and the citizens of the United States want to thank you!
Now while you all have got your blood pumping and your adrenalin flowing please continue with this wave of law enforcement and start collecting all of the illegals here in the United States.
It sure would be nice to see some of the millions of unemployed American citizens get back to work.