More Than 10,000 Fugitives Arrested in Eastern U.S. Roundup
Robert Schmidt
Law enforcement officers led by the U.S. Marshals Service were ``targeting the worst of the worst fugitive felons'' in that part of the country, Gonzales said.
An average of 3,000 federal, state and local officers participated each day in the dragnet, said John Clark, director of the Marshals Service. In addition to suspected sex offenders, those arrested were wanted on charges including kidnapping, burglary, carjacking, weapons offenses and drug distribution. Officials arrested 364 gang members and 107 people wanted for murder. They seized 232 guns.
One suspect was killed in the Atlanta area, and no law enforcement officers were hurt during the operation, Clark said.
More than 1 million fugitives are at large in the U.S., Clark said, adding that the Marshals Service apprehends about 1,000 during a typical week.
FALCON stands for Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally. This is the third roundup conducted under the program. In April, the government focused on the Western U.S. and arrested 9,037 fugitives.
To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Schmidt in Washington at rschmidt5@bloomberg.net .