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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: |
May 07, 2008 |
Brian W. Fair, Judicial Security
Inspector
Public Information Officer (504)589-2145 |
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Arrest of Alleged Sex Offender Fugitive in
Baldwin County, Alabama |
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On the afternoon of May 07, 2008, the U.S.
Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Francisco
Hernandez-Almendares, 26, on a warrant issued in December of 2006 in
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana charging him with aggravated rape of a child
under 13 years old. Acting on a lead sent by the Eastern District of
Louisiana U.S. Marshals Service Crescent Star Fugitive Task Force (CSFTF),
Hernandez-Almendares was arrested in Baldwin County, Alabama after a traffic
stop initiated by the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and local law
enforcement. Hernandez-Almendares attempted to deny his identity to law
enforcement officers but the photograph provided by CSFTF investigators
confirmed his identity. He was booked into the Baldwin County Jail to await
extradition proceedings back to Jefferson Parish.
The charges stemmed from a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office investigation
that began in October of 2006 involving a six year old male child that was
allegedly raped by Hernandez-Almendares and Walter Almendares in Metairie,
Louisiana. Walter Almendares was arrested by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s
Office on a U.S. Immigration detainer. As the Sheriff’s office investigation
progressed, Walter Almendares was rearrested on the aggravated rape of a
child. In December of 2006, Sheriff’s office investigator attempted to
locate Hernandez-Almendares at his last known address in Metairie,
Louisiana. Investigators were advised that he had gone to Texas and had
obtained an attorney.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office requested CSFTF’s assistance in
locating Hernandez-Almendares. An agent from the U.S. Border Patrol,
assigned to the task force, developed information that he was in Baldwin
County, Alabama. The U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task
Force was contacted for assistance and their efforts led to his arrest.
Eastern District of Louisiana U.S. Marshal Michael Credo stated, “Our task
force brings law enforcement resources together and focuses the expertise of
the different participating agencies to locate and apprehend violent
offenders and sexual predators. The U.S. Border Patrol Agent assigned to our
task force did exceptional work on this case and his efforts, along with our
counterparts in Alabama, led to Hernandez-Almendares being brought to
justice.”
The U.S. Marshals Service EDLA sponsored CSFTF was formed in 1999. After
Hurricane Katrina the U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Department of Justice
committed additional resources to the task force to locate and arrest
violent fugitives and sexual predators in the New Orleans metro area. CSFTF
has been featured numerous times on New Orleans metro area news/media
outlets and was also the feature of a Los Angeles Times story on locating
fugitives post Katrina. Current CSFTF members include the New Orleans Police
Department, Bogalusa Police Department, the Orleans Parish Criminal
Sheriff’s Office, St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson Parish
Sheriff’s Office, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana Probation
and Parole, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Border
Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Services, and Social Security OIG.
Other New Orleans metro area law enforcement agencies also participate on a
case by case basis. The task force frequently works with Crime Stoppers and
the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission (MCC). In 2007 the U.S.
Marshals Service EDLA, with DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance support, also
engaged in community efforts through schools and faith based resources to
prevent violent crime in metro New Orleans through the Gang Resistance
Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program. For more information on the
U.S. Marshals EDLA CSFTF go to
www.usmarshals.gov/district/la-e/news/index.html.
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