FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: May 07, 2008 Brian W. Fair, Judicial Security Inspector Public Information Officer (504)589-2145   Arrest of Alleged Sex Offender Fugitive in Baldwin County, Alabama   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.