U.S. Marshals sweep apprehends 10,733 fugitives

[Chuck]

OK, glad they did it. Makes everyone feel safer. I'm sure some politicians up for re-election, and who help control the Marshall's purse strings, will be up on stage for the press conference.

But, it begs the questions, what the hell are almost 11,000 "fugitives" (nearly 1,000 unregistered sex offenders) doing on the loose in the first bloody place?!

-= chuck

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly 11,000 fugitives, including sex offenders, gang members and others wanted on a variety of charges from kidnapping to weapons offenses, were swept up last week in a 24-state operation, the Justice Department was to announce Thursday.

Among the fugitives caught were 1,659 sex offenders -- including 971 who failed to register with authorities as required by law -- in what the government called the largest number ever captured in a single law enforcement effort.

The sweep, led by the U.S. Marshals Service, "has made our nation's neighborhoods and children safer by taking off the streets some of the worst sex offenders, violent felons and gang members," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in a prepared statement.

Gonzales was to discuss the roundup, code-named Operation Falcon III, at a news conference Thursday.

In one case, authorities said they tracked down Allen Marksberry, an unregistered sex offender in Rickman, Tennessee, who was convicted in 1996 of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old child. At the time of his October 24 arrest, officials said, Marksberry was baby-sitting several children -- all of whom were under 11 years old.

Agents also found pornography and drugs inside Marksberry's home, authorities said, and were led to a separate trailer that had a clear view of a playground and a pair of binoculars inside.

The October 22-28 roundup snared more fugitives than similar operations in April 2005 and April 2006, the Justice Department said.

The most recent dragnet, targeting 24 states east of the Mississippi River, was boosted by the 2006 Adam Walsh Act, approved by Congress last summer, which created stricter requirements for sex offenders to register with communities. Six-year-old Adam Walsh was abducted from a Florida shopping mall and murdered in 1981.

Hundreds of state and local law enforcement authorities and more than a half-dozen federal agencies -- including the U.S. Marshals, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the State Department -- helped in the roundup.

In all, officials said they caught 10,733 fugitives. Among them were 364 gang members and thousands of others sought on kidnapping, robbery, burglary, carjacking and weapons charges. More than 230 weapons were collected.

Those totals represent a fraction of doors knocked on, liquor store drive-bys, construction site surveillances and tips chased down by agents during the weeklong sweep.

CNN

 

[EddieCoyle]

But, it begs the questions, what the hell are almost 11,000 "fugitives" (nearly 1,000 unregistered sex offenders) doing on the loose in the first bloody place?!

No kidding. Instead of calling this a "sweep", they should be able to call it "a normal day's work".

 

[Pilgrim]

The big question is:

Where will they all be in 30 days ?

Wanna guess?

 

[Emoto]

The big question is:

Where will they all be in 30 days ?

Wanna guess?

Brockton?

 

[JonJ]

Devalachusetts.

 

[clinotus]

I am surprised that only 230 weapons were confiscated from 10,733 fugitives, more so since the capturees were gangsters, carjackers, and people previously convicted of weapons charges.

 

[Scrivener]

I am surprised that only 230 weapons were confiscated from 10,733 fugitives, more so since the capturees were gangsters, carjackers, and people previously convicted of weapons charges.

Agreed. That figure is short a decimal point or there is a LOT of missing ordnance.

 

[Admin]

Agreed. That figure is short a decimal point or there is a LOT of missing ordnance.

+1

 

[JellyFish]

BWAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

That is such a great argument for the RKBA. The sheeple who think they are safe all the time are dumbasses. There's WAY more bad guys running around out there than the ones they busted.

 

[Weerd Beard]

Too bad somebody tipped off Deval's Bro in law. I'd bet that if the feds kicked down the Sister's door and handcuffed her husband all while Deval was having an after-dinner sherry would make up more than 30 points for Healy

Arrrr

-Weer'd Beard

 

[KMaurer]

"It's Show-time!"

They sand-bag for six months or so, letting fugitives walk around free, committing more crimes, so that they can grab them all in one big publicity stunt. They normally don't happen this time of year, since both the public and the pols tend to be focused on the elections. They're more common in the early spring when Congress is working appropriations for the next fiscal year.

Ken

 

[drgrant]

OK, glad they did it. Makes everyone feel safer. I'm sure some politicians up for re-election, and who help control the Marshall's purse strings, will be up on stage for the press conference.

But, it begs the questions, what the hell are almost 11,000 "fugitives" (nearly 1,000 unregistered sex offenders) doing on the loose in the first bloody place?!

-= chuck

Never mind the 11,000, how about the MILLION? A radio thing I heard
on WRKO yesterday announcing this same blurb said that there are
somewhere in the region of 1M fugitives in this country running
around.

What I'd like to know is the % of those fugitives who were in prison
-before- for some sort of violent crime, I'm sure its in the 40%+
range, easily. And I'm sure of that range, many of them served less than
a few years in jail for whatever it was that they did.

-Mike

 

[Admin]

What I'd like to know is the % of those fugitives who were in prison
-before- for some sort of violent crime, I'm sure its in the 40%+
range, easily. And I'm sure of that range, many of them served less than
a few years in jail for whatever it was that they did.

-Mike

Mike,

I would guess higher than 40%, but that's me, I'm a gambling man.

 

[drgrant]

Mike,

I would guess higher than 40%, but that's me, I'm a gambling man.

Perhaps I should have restated that.... the 40% would be out of the
net pool of fugitives, as you can have violent fugitives and nonviolent
fugutiives. I'd wager a guess that theres a horrendous number of people
wanted for fraud that are simply out walking around because they're not
worth the effort.

If we narrowed it down to violent criminal fugitives, the % is probably
much higher of ones that have already been to jail.

I guess what I'm getting at, is all the pols whining about guns is pure BS
when they're the ones that select judges or impose crappy sentencing
guidelines. We've ended up with a justice system that penalizes mostly
law abiding people for minor transgressions (eg carrying a gun without a
license) but freely lets multiple offenders of violent crime (assault + battery,
robbery, rape, murder) out of jail at a whim. (And to top this off, often
times the gun charges get pleaded away in the process of them being
prosecuted!)

-Mike

 

[Admin]

I guess what I'm getting at, is all the pols whining about guns is pure BS
when they're the ones that select judges or impose crappy sentencing
guidelines. We've ended up with a justice system that penalizes mostly
law abiding people for minor transgressions (eg carrying a gun without a
license) but freely lets multiple offenders of violent crime (assault + battery,
robbery, rape, murder) out of jail at a whim. (And to top this off, often
times the gun charges get pleaded away in the process of them being
prosecuted!)

-Mike

I agree 100%