A sweeping dragnet by the U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina together with local police resulted in a total of 152 arrests July 17-19. The officers were armed with 202 warrants, and the arrests were for offenses ranging from robbery to drug and firearms offenses, as well as violation of probation. The raids were carried out throughout Cumberland County, with some arrests occurring within the city of Fayetteville.
The action, aimed at arresting fugitives in the area that are wanted on a variety of criminal charges, was called “Operation Swift Justice.” Several dozen officers from an alphabet-soup of local and federal law enforcement agencies participated.
One 42-year-old man taken into custody was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, stealing a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, and committing an assault with a deadly weapon in a manner which caused serious injury. In a previous arrest, he had been charged with attempted murder. Also included among the arrestees was a 20-year-old man sought by the FBI on kidnapping and robbery charges.
Officers gathered in the early hours of July 17, 2012, to launch the operation, which went on all that day and continued for the next two days. In addition to making arrests, the agencies involved stated, they seized crack cocaine and marijuana from a number of locations and also confiscated two firearms.
The U.S. Marshals Service indicated that further arrests may be made subsequently as a result of investigations currently under way. The agencies involved in the operation included the Spring Lake Police Department; Home Mills Police Department; Fayetteville Police Department; Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department; U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Force; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; FBI; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Cumberland County Alcohol Beverage Control Law Enforcement; and Homeland Security.
Source: The Raleigh Telegram, “US Marshals Arrest 157 Fugitives In Cumberland County,” July 20, 2012
Our firm handles similar criminal defense situations to the one discussed in this post. If you would like to learn more about our practice, please visit our Raleigh Federal Crimes page.