FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: December 15, 2008 Southern District of Georgia Supervisory Deputy Tommy Long 912-652-4577; USMS Headquarters Public Affairs (202) 307-9065   Sylvania Suspect Arrested in South Carolina   A fugitive wanted by the Sylvania, Georgia Police Department was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Greenville, South Carolina on December 12, 2008. Juan Manuel Velazquez Garcia, 20, was being sought on a 2006 warrant issued in Sylvania, Georgia charging him with Aggravated Assault with Intent to Rape. The incident happened on November 4, 2006 in Sylvania, Georgia. The case was referred to the U.S. Marshals Savannah Office of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force for assistance in locating and arresting this subject in December, 2008. Numerous leads were worked in the by the Marshals’ Task Force in an attempt to find this subject. Information generated from law enforcement sources indicated that Garcia had fled to Mexico after the incident. New information was generated that indicated Garcia was in the Greenville, SC area working in a local Chinese Food Restaurant. These leads were forwarded to the U.S. Marshals Opeartion Intercept Fugitive Task Force in Columbia, SC. Additional information developed was that Garcia was possibly planning to return to Mexico on December 14, 2008. On December 12, 2008 members of the Marshals Operation Intercept task force set up surveillance at the China Wok Buffet Restaurant on Pelham Road in Greenville, SC. Investigators then went into the restaurant and the manager led them to the kitchen area, where Garcia was arrested without incident. Garcia was taken to the Greenville County Jail to await extradition back to Georgia. 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. The task force covers the whole state of Georgia. The Savannah Offices of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force is a team comprised of investigators 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.