FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: |
August 01,
2007 |
Trent Touchstone, Supervisory Deputy
Marshal (214)
770-3512 |
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United States Marshals Service Led
Joint Apprehension Effort |
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DALLAS- FORT WORTH, TEXAS –
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. Led by the U.S. Marshals Service, Operation FALCON is an
ongoing, multi-city, nationwide law enforcement effort. Since its
onset this year, Operation FALCON 2007 has netted 1546 arrests and
cleared 1764 warrants in seven operations.
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, 6 firearms, 510 grams of narcotics and $721.00 in U.S.
Currency were seized.
Ronald Valentine Dames was 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 (2 warrants), indecency with a child and failure to register
as a sex offender. The warrants were issued on September 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 Ft. Worth Texas on day five of the operation.
Randy P. Ely, United States 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.”
Operation FALCON 2007– Dallas/Fort Worth consisted of over 100
federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, making up
fifteen separate arrest teams working together throughout the
seven-day operation. These teams tracked fugitives not only in
Dallas and Tarrant, but the surrounding counties as well. Over
twenty 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, United States 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
America’s Oldest
Federal Law Enforcement Agency |
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