U.S. MARSHALS CRESCENT STAR FUGITIVE TASK FORCE ARRESTS VIOLENT OFFENDER IN MID CITY AND RECOVER GUN AND DRUGS AS PART OF ITS’ OPERATION DEBRIS REMOVAL

On the morning of February 05, 2007, the Eastern District of Louisiana (EDLA) U.S. Marshals Crescent Star Fugitive Task Force (CSFTF) arrested Desmond Manuel Ray, 32 years old, at his residence in the 4000 block of Baudin St. New Orleans, Louisiana. Ray was wanted on a January 2007, EDLA warrant charging him with federal supervised release violations. A firearm, as well as a quantity of what is believed to be crack and powder cocaine, was also recovered from the residence.

CSFTF began working a fugitive investigation on Ray and located his vehicle at the Baudin St. residence. Investigators believe that he was traveling back and forth between the Houston, Texas area and his residence in New Orleans thus making him harder to apprehend.

Desmond Ray has a 1997 conviction in EDLA for armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier for which he was sentenced to 108 months in the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP). In 2005 he was released from the BOP and placed on supervised release. On December 02, 2006, Ray was arrested by the New Orleans Police Department for an outstanding warrant in Brazoria County, Texas for burglary of a habitation, and he posted a bond in Brazoria County on December 22, 2006. On January 14, 2007, Ray was arrested by the Louisiana State Police in New Orleans and charged with firearm and narcotics violations. He was released on bond on
January 20, 2007, and the EDLA U.S. Probation Office issued a warrant for his alleged supervised release violations.

In October of 2006, the U.S. Attorney General committed additional out- of- town deputy U.S. Marshals to CSFTF to assist the New Orleans Police Department with the spike in crime. The CSFTF has been working hand in hand with the New Orleans Police Department Violent Offenders Warrant Squad (NOPD VOWS) and the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office to look for fugitives. CSFTF is averaging between ten and fifteen fugitive arrests per week with many fugitives being wanted on crimes of a violent nature. Besides arresting local fugitives, the task force has also seen a significant increase in the arrest of fugitives wanted from other states such as the Texas DPS Top 10 that the task force nabbed in Larose, Louisiana on January 18, 2007 . The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, Bogalusa Police Department, Louisiana Probation and Parole, and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service also continue to provide fugitive cases and support to CSFTF.