FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
June 23, 2008 Christian Hanson, Deputy U.S. Marshal
(415) 436-7658
 
Fugitive Apprehension Initiative Nets More Than 50 Fugitives in the Bay Area
 
San Francisco, CA – On June 16, the arrest of David Montosa on Treasure Island ended the U.S. Marshals Service Northern California fugitive operation known as Operation FALCON. Montosa was wanted by Salinas Police on a sexual battery incident in 2005. Led by the U.S. Marshals Service, Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally) is a multi-agency fugitive apprehension effort targeting persons wanted for sexual offenses, violent crimes, and narcotics violations. Over 50 arrests were made during the week-long operation, which began June 8. This is the fourth consecutive year that the U.S. Marshals Service has conducted the FALCON fugitive operation.

During the operation, the FALCON task force members arrested Jesus Felix-Salazar in Gilroy on a provisional arrest warrant. Felix-Salazar was wanted in Mexico as part of a homicide investigation. Around the bay area, officers also located several parolees at-large. In Oakland, parolee Anthony William was arrested for failure to report. During the arrest, task force officers found a bullet-proof vest. Bruce Durham was another parolee arrested. He was wanted for an attempted homicide.

Task force members included U.S. Marshals, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation agents, members of the San Francisco Police Fugitive Recovery Enforcement Team, and additional officers from Ingleside, Mission, Southern, and Tenderloin stations. The week-long operation resulted in 46 targeted arrests and the arrest of two robbery suspects in the South of Mission district, which included the recovery of a handgun.

Task forces officers also completed several compliance checks throughout the bay area to ensure sex registrants are fulfilling their registration requirements.

Operation FALCON – Northern California was comprised of law enforcement agents throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The agencies involved in the operation were the Salinas Police, San Jose Police, San Francisco Police, Menlo Park Police, San Francisco Sheriff, State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Coast Guard Investigative Service, and California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit.

The U.S. Marshals Service also coordinates the Northern California Fugitive Task Force, a multi-agency task force that targets persons wanted for violent crimes, narcotic offenses, and sexual offenders in the San Francisco bay area. Many fugitives investigations opened during FALCON continue to be investigated. When necessary, task force officers here will reach out to other Marshals Service task forces across the country to bring these fugitives to justice.

Since its inception in 2005, Operation FALCON has made over 36,500 arrests and cleared over 45,300 warrants. It continues to be the largest and most successful fugitive apprehension effort in U.S. Marshals history.

For more information about Operation FALCON, visit http://www.usmarshals.gov/falcon08/media.htm.
 

America’s Oldest Federal Law Enforcement Agency