DALLAS and FORT WORTH , Texas, July 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following a two-year tradition of success in its national efforts, the U.S. Marshals Service locally conducted another successful Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally) from July 18-25 in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Operation FALCON 2007 -- Dallas/Fort Worth combined the collective efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies from the North Texas area, focusing on capturing individuals wanted on felony charges including sexual predators, fugitives wanted for crimes of violence and gang members.
Over the course of the seven-day operation, Deputy U.S. Marshals, teamed with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, arrested 244 fugitives, including 32 sex offenders and 28 gang members. The arrests cleared a total of 308 warrants. Additionally, six firearms, 510 grams of narcotics and
Randy P. Ely, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Texas observed, "Operation FALCON once again demonstrates the very powerful effect of law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal level thinking smarter and working more effectively together to rid our communities of violent criminals. By arresting these offenders, many with a violent history, we have helped to bring some sense of closure to those who have been victimized by their efforts and hopefully prevented others from being persecuted by their continued criminal conduct. I wish to thank the administrators from each of the law enforcement agencies for allowing their personnel to participate in FALCON and extend to all the law enforcement officers involved my sincere appreciation for making this a safe and successful operation."
One of the fugitives captured during the operation was Ronald Valentine Dames , a fugitive wanted by the Travis County Sheriffs Department and the Austin Police Department on four outstanding felony warrants charging him with sexual assault of a minor (two warrants), indecency with a child and failure to register as a sex offender. The warrants were issued on Sept. 13, 1995 and Dames had remained a fugitive for over 10 years. Dames has a criminal history which includes convictions for Molestation of a Child in 1974 and sexual assault of a child in in1993. Dames was arrested in Fort Worth on day five of the operation.
Operation FALCON 2007 -- Dallas/Fort Worth consisted of over 100 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, making up15 separate arrest teams working together throughout the seven-day operation. These teams tracked fugitives not only in Dallas , but in the surrounding counties as well. Over 20 fugitive leads were sent to other U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Forces outside the Northern District of Texas, which resulted in four arrests. Each participating local officer was sworn in as a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal immediately prior to the start of this operation. This special authority empowered them to cross traditional lines of jurisdiction to track down and arrest targeted fugitives throughout the operation.
Established in January 2004 , the Dallas Fort Worth Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team's (DFW FAST) main objective is to track and apprehend violent fugitives in the North Texas area and throughout the United States . Many of the participants in Operation FALCON are assigned to DFW FAST. Since the inception of DFW FAST, over 5,750 fugitives have been arrested by the Strike Team, which includes over 808 arrested during FALCON operations in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Agencies contributing to Operation FALCON 2007 Dallas/Fort Worth were Arlington Police Department, Bridgeport Police Department, Burleson Police Department, Commerce Police Department, Dallas Police Department, Decatur Police Department, Fort Worth Police Department, Grand Prairie Police Department, Greenville Police Department, Mesquite Police Department, Rhome Police Department, Terrell Police Department, Bexar County Sheriffs Office, Comal County Sheriffs Office, Dallas County Sheriffs Office, Hunt County Sheriff Office, Kaufman County Sheriffs Office, Parker County Sheriffs Office, Tarrant County Sheriffs Office, Wise County Sheriffs Office, Dallas County Probation Department, Hunt County Constables Office, Hunt County District Attorneys Office -- Investigations, Kaufman County District Attorneys Office -- Investigations, Tarrant County Constables Office, Tarrant County District Attorneys Office -- Investigations, Texas Department of Public Safety -- Criminal Intelligence Division, Texas Department of Public Safety -- Texas Rangers, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Bureau of Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Dept. of Housing & Urban Development -- Office of the Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs -- Office of the Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Social Security Administration -- Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Marshals
Service.
Since its inception in 2005, Operation FALCON has made over 30,000 arrests and cleared over 38,000 warrants. It continues to be the largest and most successful fugitive apprehension effort in U.S. Marshals history.
For more information about the U.S. Marshals Service, visit http://www.usmarshals.gov
For more information about DFW FAST, visit http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/tx-n/index.html
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
