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Fugitive
Sweep Nets 64 Arrests
Multi-agency
effort targets 300 known fugitives living in the Compton area
By
Allison Jean Eaton
Bulletin
Staff Writer
A
recent four-day operation aimed at taking fugitives off the streets
resulted in the arrest of 64 law evaders hiding out in Compton, authorities
said.
Last Tuesday, L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca visited Compton Station
to announce what he described as a successful multi-agency effort.
Dubbed by the nation’s second largest law enforcement agency as “Operation
Save Our Streets III,” federal, state and local resources were used
to thin out the number of criminals living in Compton.
The U.S. Marshals Service, state parole agency and the county Department
of Children and Family Services joined the department’s Major Crimes
Bureau and various other units, including a number of deputies from Compton
Station, to serve 300 search warrants within the station’s service
area.
The 64 arrested are wanted for crimes ranging from traffic and city
code violations to low-level misdemeanors and felony assaults. Among a
host of other violations, warrants were successfully served for loitering,
drinking in public, contempt of court, identity theft, possession and sale
of narcotics, spousal assault, lewd acts with children and attempted murder.
Authorities said it’s up to the courts to determine if those eligible
will be granted bail and return to the community.
Baca said those arrested are “being invited to join another city
called the L.A. County jail... and the reality is that this city will regain
its strength and become one of the crown jewels within the county of Los
Angeles.”
Although the department only captured 21 percent of the people it
targeted, Major Crimes Bureau Capt. Stephen Johnson said now the team will
go back to the drawing board and review their intelligence to try and track
down the remaining individuals on the run.
Johnson said the Sheriff’s Department tailored the operation after
a nationwide program launched by the U.S. Marshals called “Operation
Falcon.”
“We took that program and localized it here and brought it to our
county,” he said.
According to U.S. Marshals Supervisory Inspector Jason Grunwald,
the team effort is a “textbook example of the benefits of interagency
cooperation and information sharing.”
He said that although the execution of the sweep lasted four days,
it took weeks of preparation that would take a small team of investigators
several years to complete.
Above and beyond the obvious benefits of ridding the streets of criminals
and making the community safer, the operation served to reinforce the integrity
of the criminal justice system.
“When criminals flee from their charges, the criminal justice system
begins to break down,” he said. “Cases are not adjudicated,
defendants are not held accountable for their actions, and most importantly,
crime victims are denied the closure that they need to begin the
healing process.”
Last year, a similar operation was conducted in the greater Antelope
Valley area, particularly in Palmdale and Lancaster. That sweep netted
125 arrests, according to Johnson.
“We’ve done this kind of operation for the last three years
and will continue this operation throughout the entire county of Los Angeles,” Baca
said.
“Crime will drop significantly when known criminals who are fugitives
are pulled off the streets,” he continued. This is partly due to
the likelihood of a criminal becoming a repeat offender and partly
due to the message that is sent out into the criminal element of the community.
Compton is currently on pace to have its lowest number of homicides
in three decades.
Making a public plea to the remaining criminals at large, Baca said: “If
you think you’ve absconded, we’re gonna catch you. Your best
alternative is to surrender to the nearest court or nearest police agency,” said
Baca. “Otherwise, at a very inconvenient time for you, we will capture
you and arrest you.”
Grunwald echoed a similar sentiment, saying the department has “sent
a message” that “fleeing from the law is unacceptable... the
city of Compton will not be a safe haven for those trying to abscond from
justice.”
The operation also led to the seizure of four pounds of marijuana,
methamphetamine for personal use and Valium for sale.
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