Friday, Jul. 10, 2009

U.S. Marshal's task force rounds up nearly 400 fugitives in metro-east

Work included return of kidnapped baby

Deputy U.S. marshals working on a task force in June provided critical information that led to the return of a kidnapped Madison baby, said Don Slazinik, the U.S. marshal for Southern Illinois.

Danielle Medina, who was located in Fort Wayne, Ind., and charged with kidnapping 6-month-old Cortez Rose, was one of 387 metro-east fugitives arrested by the U.S. Marshal's Service Task Force Operation Falcon last month.

Medina also was wanted in New York for theft and child endangerment

"We used the same tactics we use to find fugitives to find this boy," Slazinik said.

Slazinik and U.S. Attorney A. Courtney Cox released the number of fugitives rounded up in the Southern District of Illinois on Thursday.

"The goal is to make communities safer, and we do that by taking the most violent people who make the community less safe off the streets," Cox said.

The Southern Illinois task force arrested 15 sex offenders, 13 homicide suspects, 161 drug fugitives, 53 weapons fugitives and others. The task force rounded up a total of 387 fugitives -- more than double the 190 fugitives taken into custody in 2007. Task force members also seized 28 guns.

"It will get even better next year," Slazinik said. "I promise you."

Nationwide, 35,190 fugitives were taken into custody. They included 433 murder suspects, 900 gang members and 2,356 sex offenders. Task force members seized more than $342,000 in cash, 582 firearms, 38 vehicles and nearly 2,400 kilograms of narcotics.

Each participating local officer was sworn-in as a special deputy U.S. marshal immediately before the start of the operation -- 5,007 nationwide. The special authority empowers them to cross traditional lines of jurisdiction to track down and arrest targeted fugitives throughout the operation.

U.S. Marshals Director John Clark has overseen five of the six Falcon operations, which began in 2005 and occur annually.

"I continue to be impressed with the remarkable results that can be achieved when all of law enforcement comes together," he stated. "What began five years ago as a promising concept has become the most effective fugitive apprehension effort in the long history of the U.S. Marshals.

The agencies working together also allows better cooperation and intelligence-sharing outside of the task force because of the relationships built between task force members, Slazinik said.

The task force met for three days a week for the month of June and was comprised of members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

In addition to the Cortez Rose kidnapping, Operation Falcon agents also located two men suspected in the June 1 shooting of a bartender at Maggie O'Brien's pub, next to Union Station in St. Louis.

Devon Mosley, 26, of East St. Louis, and Jacson Baker, 30, of Cahokia, were charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Mike Dolan, who was shot during a robbery attempt.