A fugitive wanted by the Yuma County Sheriff’s
Office on outstanding warrants was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Southeast
Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department on
September 18, 2008.
Eddie Lee Cole was being sought on a warrant issued in Yuma, Arizona
charging him with Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. In May of 2008, the
Yuma County Sheriff’s Department issued a warrant for Cole. Cole learned
that he was wanted and fled Arizona. Cole had previously served a 10 year
sentence for the sexual abuse of a 14 year old girl in 1997 in Arizona. As a
result of this conviction he is required to register yearly.
The case was turned over to the U.S. Marshals Child Predator Apprehension
Team in Arizona to locate and arrest him. The investigation revealed leads
that were in the Jesup, Georgia area and passed the case to the Southeast
Regional Fugitive Task Force in Savannah. Deputy Marshals from the
Brunswick, Georgia office went to Jesup, Georgia and teamed up with
investigators from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. Through their
investigation, these officers learned that he was staying at a residence in
Jesup, GA. Investigators went to the residence and apprehended Cole without
incident. Cole was taken to the Wayne County Jail to await extradition
proceedings to send him back to Arizona.
Annually, investigations carried out by the U.S. Marshals result in the
apprehension of approximately 36,000 federal fugitives. More federal
fugitives are arrested by the Marshals Service than all other federal
agencies combined.The Marshals
Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force has three offices: Atlanta, Macon,
and Savannah and cover the whole state of Georgia. The Savannah Office of
the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force is a team comprised of law
enforcement officers from the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Chatham
County Sheriff's Department, the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police
Department, and the United States Marshals Service. The task force objective
is to seek out and arrest fugitives charged with violent crimes, drug
crimes, sex offenders, and other felonies. Last year, U.S. Marshals task
forces arrested more than 58,600 state and local fugitives on felony
charges.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at
http://www.usmarshals.gov. |
