Operation FALCON: Statistics

The following is a comparison of Statistics supplied by the United States Marshals Service (USMS) regarding the April 4-14, 2005, Operation FALCON multi-agency national fugitive "sweep" and those reported by "local news" reports.

A statistical list by state of the 10,343 fugitives arrested is posted on the USMS website.

In descending order of states with more than 200 fugitives captured, the largest number was 902 arrested in Texas, 785 in Tennessee, 685 in Florida, 631 in Ohio, 565 in Oklahoma, 507 in California, 401 in Illinois, 368 in Pennsylvania, 349 in Louisiana, 345 in New York, 321 in Georgia, 316 in Missouri, 297 Arizona, 285 in Massachusetts, 255 in Indiana, and 228 in New Jersey.

Please note that:

• Almost all "news releases" are boiler plate with local additions inserted where appropriate.
• "None of the fugitives, including six captured in Mexico and two in the Dominican Republic, had known ties to terrorism, a marshals official said."
• Comparison of the US Marshals Service website statistics with local news reports, often from local and state law enforcement, either correspond closely or differ by a considerable margin, a fact which is unaccounted for at this time.

Statistics & Local News Reports

See the USMS list for the number of fugitive captures.

Note: As of May 24, 2005, headlines for all states with local statistics had not been located. As of July 27, 2007, not all local news links are active.

The number following the state name which is highlighted in bold is found on the USMS list.

Alabama: USMS 186

• Local: Northern 99, Central 40
• NBC 13 Birmingham: 162 reported "The Alabama arrests included at least 13 with warrants for murder and attempted murder. One-hundred and eighty-three warrants were served in just seven days, with a total of 99 arrests in northern Alabama."
• Montgomery Advertiser reported "Forty fugitives were captured in central Alabama ..."

Alaska: USMS 13

• WEB 11 Fairbanks reported "Twelve [12] people were arrested in Alaska, mostly for parole or probation violations or failure to appear. Officials with the U.S. Marshals office in Anchorage say original charges included assault, bank fraud, theft and distribution of cocaine."

Arizona: USMS 297

• Arizona Star reported "More than 80 fugitives in Southern Arizona - including homicide, kidnapping and bank-robbery suspects" ... "Authorities in Arizona arrested 322 fugitives, seventh most in the nation."
• KOLD Tuscon: "81 arrests in and around the Tucson area over the past week. Statewide in Arizona there were 322 arrests."

Arkansas: USMS 127

• KHBS/KHOP Fort Smith: "fugitive roundup ... including nearly 200 in the River Valley ... brought in 181 of fugitives from the Hometown area. ... 237 [warrants cleared] in the Fort Smith area. ... Of the 181 fugitives arrested in the Fort Smith area, 100 had felony warrants."

California: USMS 507

• Local: Los Angeles [approx. 400], San Diego area +/- 111, Northern 146
• Los Angeles Regional Task Force posted 10-page pdf listing of names (40 to a page), city where arrested, charge, when arrested, and what (if anything) was seized.
• San Diego Union-Tribune reported "at least 111 fugitives wanted in San Diego and Imperial counties and Mexico were arrested" ... "About half of those arrested on San Diego-area warrants were wanted for drugs, 15 were burglary suspects, 10 were wanted for assault and 2 for sex crimes."
• Los Angeles Daily News reported "nearly 200 from the Los Angeles area ... 63 people wanted on Los Angeles Police Department warrants."
• Knight Ridder (Contra Costa Times) reported "U.S. marshals in Northern California, working with local law enforcement, rounded up 146 fugitives. ... More than half of the area arrests were made in San Francisco, ... Ten federal fugitives were in northwestern California, from Monterey to the Oregon border, as part of the operation."

Colorado: USMS 54

• Denver Post / Fort Morgan Times reported "U.S. marshals apprehended 63 fugitives in Colorado, 49 in Wyoming and 162 in New Mexico."

Connecticut: USMS 77

• Connecticut Post reported "83 fugitives in Connecticut" ... "Operation Falcon specifically targeted fugitives involved in gang-related crimes, murders, sexual assaults, kidnappings, crimes against children and the elderly, and unregistered sex offenders."

District of Columbia: USMS 115

• Washington Post reported "118 people wanted on charges including homicide and sexual assault. Twelve were arrested on robbery charges, 43 on drug-related charges, 20 on assault charges and five on sexual-assault charges, officials said. The fugitives also include a homicide suspect and a woman convicted of second-degree murder wanted for a parole violation."

Florida: USMS 685

• Local: Middle District 429, Tampa Bay area 167, Jacksonville area 69, Tallahassee area 100+, Naples area 93, Miami 12 (which might be included in Southwest 93)
• Bay News 9 reported "'Throughout the middle district of Florida, 429 people were arrested ..."
• Tampa Bay Online reported "167 arrests were handled through the Tampa Marshals Service office, whose territory includes Polk, Hernando, Pasco, Hardee, Manatee, Hillsborough, Sarasota and Pinellas counties. Officials could not break down the arrests by county."
• Nassau County Record reported "69 fugitives arrested in the Jacksonville area"
• WCTV 6 reported "One of the sex offenders arrested was caught right outside a Tallahassee preschool. He was one of more than 100 arrests in the span of a week."
• WINK TV Southwest Florida reported "93 fugitives are in local jails ... Central Florida had the second highest number of arrests in the country. Lee County had the most locally."
• Naples News reported "93 fugitives locally ... More than 40 of the arrests were for narcotics charges and more than 30 were for burglary or larceny. Eight involved federal charges. ... No drugs, money or property was seized locally during enforcement, ... Most of the local arrests were made in Collier and Lee counties, Pastula said, with Lee County yielding the most fugitives."
• The Miami Herald reported "Twelve foreign nationals allegedly hiding from immigration authorities were arrested ... All of the people arrested are in ICE custody awaiting deportation. Those arrested also include nationals from Colombia, Haiti, Guatemala, Peru and Honduras."

Hawaii: USMS 126

• Local: 133 / 134
• Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported "Total arrests: 134 (including one surrender) - Federal arrests: 10 - State arrests: 124 (122 local warrants and one for a fugitive wanted in Utah; another fugitive had additional warrants from Florida but was picked up on Maui warrants) - Total warrants executed: 175 (Some fugitives had more than one warrant for their arrest.) - Types of warrants: Assault, burglary/larceny, financial fraud, negligent homicide, kidnapping, narcotics, robbery, sexual assault, stolen vehicles and weapons."
• KGMB 9 reported "More than 100 fugitives have been apprehended in Hawaii ... Here in the islands, Falcon focused on Maui and Oahu"
• Honolulu Advertiser reported 133.

Illinois: USMS 401

• Local: Central Illinois 72, Metro Chicago 216, Southern 100+, Macon Co 8
• CBS 2 Chicago reported "In Illinois, there were 216 local [Chicago] fugitives arrested, 257 warrants cleared and 25 gang members arrested."
• Pantagraph/Central Illinois reported "About half of the 72 fugitives arrested in Central Illinois during a nationwide warrant sweep earlier this month were from the Twin Cities and Peoria."
• ABC Chicago reported "216 fugitives grabbed in metro Chicago"
• The Southern Illinoisan reported the "arrest of 37 Southern Illinois residents"
• KSDK 5 reported "Southern Illinois officials say their operation netted more than 100 arrests and cleared more than 122 cases."
• Decatur Tribune reported "eight arrest warrants were served over a two-day period in Macon County ranging from armed robbery to felony domestic battery."

Indiana: USMS 255

• Local: Northwest 83, Chicago area 216
• Northwest Indiana News reported "arrested nearly 300 violent fugitives in Northern Indiana and the Chicago area ... 83 people wanted in Northwest Indiana, South Bend, Elkhart and Fort Wayne, and another 216 fugitives in and around Chicago"
• WNDU South Bend reported "Elkhart and St. Joseph Counties, ... 39 suspected violent criminals and served 43 warrants in both counties combined."

Iowa: USMS 175

• KIMT 3 Iowa reported 178

Kansas: USMS 171

• Kansas.com reported "In Kansas, 201 people were arrested and 278 warrants were cleared during 'Operation FALCON,' said Walter Bradley, U.S. marshal for Kansas. ... Seized property in the state included a military-style rifle, five handguns, a shotgun, a stun gun, a stolen bulletproof vest, $6,000 cash, 175 grams of suspected crack cocaine and 2 pounds of marijuana."
• Wichita Eagle / Sun Herald reported "In Kansas, 201 people were arrested and 278 warrants were cleared"

Kentucky: USMS 60

• WBKO reported "arrested 62 fugitives wanted for robbery, sex crimes, drug charges and probation violations as part of a national sweep of criminals with outstanding arrest warrants."
• WKYT 27 reported 62 - "In the eastern half of Kentucky, 47 fugitives were caught ... In the western half of the state, 15 fugitives were arrested"

Louisiana: USMS 349

• Local: Monroe 85, Northwest 228
• KNOE Monroe reported "Eighty-five [85] of this country's most violent offenders were found right here in Monroe."
• Yahoo! News reported "341 in Louisiana"
• KTBS Shreveport reported "In Northwest Louisiana, 228 fugitives were arrested ... Not every search was successful. Many of those on the list were not home or were already in jail. A few of the people police were looking for had died. ... At some of the houses, police did not find the fugitives but did find people who were on their list but were wanted on other warrants."

Maine: USMS 96

• Seacoast Online reported "a total of 96 felons were arrested in Maine"

Maryland: USMS 35

• Local: Maryland USMS office reported 18, WaPo 67
• Fox News 5 reported 18 "U.S. Deputy Marshal Ricardo Guzman, a spokesman for the Maryland office, says the Maryland arrests include eight for robbery, four for sexual assault, four for stolen vehicles, two for homicide and two for child abuse."
• Washington Post reported "67 arrests in Maryland"

Massachusetts: USMS 285

• Boston Globe reported "netted 285 fugitives in Massachusetts" ... "Most of the 663 warrants cleared in Massachusetts were for drug offenses and assault."
• Eagle Tribune reported "Those 72 arrested in Lawrence ... A total of 285 fugitives were arrested in Massachusetts on charges including drugs, assaults, sex offenses, gun crimes, robberies and burglaries. ... Seized during the arrests across the state were 83 grams of crack cocaine, 15.6 grams of heroin, three firearms and $25,500 in cash"

Michigan: USMS 116

• Local: Western 47, Detroit area 80
• 9&10 News reported "47 arrests in western Michigan"
• Detroit News reported "More than 80 fugitives were arrested in the Detroit area, according to the U.S. Marshals."

Minnesota: USMS 56

• KARE 11 reported "Officials said 56 of the arrests were in Minnesota. They included 21 fugitives wanted on drug charges, nine for assault, six for sexual assault, six for weapons violations, four for burglary, two for kidnapping and two for financial crimes." ... "All but two of the 56 Minnesota arrests were made in the Twin Cities area. The others were James Donald Schneider, a sex offender who violated the terms of his release and was arrested in Bemidji, and Javier Chapa, a drug offender who violated terms of his parole in Texas and was arrested in St. Peter, according to the Marshals Service."

Mississippi: USMS 138

• Associated Press reported "Officers in Mississippi rounded up 147 fugitives" and shut down two meth labs.
• The Clarion-Ledger reported "Officers in Mississippi rounded up 147 fugitives ... cleared 159 warrants in Mississippi — the only state that had two methamphetamine labs shut down by authorities, officials said."

Missouri: USMS 316

• Local: Kansas City 259, Western/Springfield [40]
• KMBC 9 Kansas City reported "Kansas City metro area, 259 fugitive cases were cleared."
• Fox 27 Springfield reported "In western Missouri 40 federal fugitives were arrested in the Springfield area in that six day period, and 73 federal warrants were cleared. ... In Kansas City, 250 arrests were made."
• KSDK 5 reported "Missouri officials also announced today they arrested more than 170 fugitives as part of Operation Falcon."
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported "274 from eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois."

Nebraska: USMS 60

• Local: Lancaster Co 30, Omaha and Lincoln 76
• Lincoln Journal-Star reported "Felons wanted on 30 outstanding warrants in Lancaster County landed in jail"
• WOWT 6 Omaha reported "76 arrests in the Omaha and Lincoln area include two for homicide, one for arson, nine for assault and four for burglary."

Nevada: USMS 77

• Las Vegas Sun reported "nabbed nearly 70 fugitives locally ... Local, state and federal law enforcement in Southern Nevada arrested 68 fugitives and cleared 112 warrants. ... Most of the local offenses -- 44 percent -- were drug-related"

New Hampshire: USMS 73

• Boston Globe reported "70 New Hampshire fugitives were arrested" ... "
• Associated Press reported "70 New Hampshire fugitives were arrested"

New Mexico: USMS 162

• KDBC 4 reported "U.S. marshals worked with several local law enforcement agencies to arrest 181 wanted men and women in New Mexico ..."
• Las Cruces Sun-News reported "73 arrests in Doña Ana County."
• Denver Post / Fort Morgan Times reported "U.S. marshals apprehended 63 fugitives in Colorado, 49 in Wyoming and 162 in New Mexico."
• KRQE 13 Albuquerque reported "dragnet put 181 people in New Mexico behind bars ... About 71 percent of those arrested in New Mexico had a history of violent or drug-related crime."

New York: USMS 345

• Local: Troy/Albany area 72, Syracuse area 79
• The Troy Record reported "72 drug, weapon and violent crime related arrests throughout the Capital District." ... "In Albany alone, Operation FALCON led to 29 felony arrests, 16 misdemeanor arrests, 14 weapons seized and 10 ounces of crack confiscated in less than two weeks."
• Capital News 9 reported "Seventy-two fugitives were busted by the Capital District Fugitive Task Force."
• WWTI 50 reported "In the Syracuse area, 79-arrests were made"

North Carolina: USMS 190

• News-Record reported "arrested 71 fugitives throughout the Piedmont Triad ..." (Greensboro, Asheboro, High Point, Burlington).
• Associated Press reported "almost 200 were arrested in North Carolina."

North Dakota: USMS 23

• The Forum/ABC reported "arrested 26 people"

Ohio: USMS 631

• WCPO Cincinnati reported "47 here in the Tri-state."

Oklahoma: USMS 565

• KOTV Oklahoma City reported 586 - "Nearly 600 fugitives are arrested in Oklahoma ... Officials say 221 fugitives were arrested in the state's Western District, headquartered in Oklahoma City. Another 124 people were arrested in the state's Northern District based in Tulsa, and 241 arrests were made in the Eastern District headquartered in Muskogee. ... Northern District Marshall Tim Welch says Oklahoma ranked third in the nation in arrests made during the roundup." (Note: Florida ranked third, OK ranked fifth.)
• KRMG News Talk 740 reported "Federal law enforcement officers across the state have arrested 600 violent criminals"
• KOKI Fox 23 Tulsa reported "Tulsa area, 124 fugitives were arrested"

Oregon: USMS 106

• Oregon State Police News Release reported "In Oregon, twelve other agencies participated including the Oregon State Police, resulting in the arrest of 106 felony fugitives and 110 warrants cleared."

Pennsylvania: USMS 368

• Local: Eastern District 151, Middle District 140, Williamsport area 25, Western 101+, Other 7
• Philly.com reported "In the eastern district of Pennsylvania, 151 suspects were rounded up and 48 other cases were closed. ... Marshals said they usually collect about 25 fugitives in an average week. During the sweep, they made their weekly average every day. ... Officers were dispatched in teams with a list of wanted targets drawn from the estimated 65,000 to 100,000 fugitives walking the streets of Philadelphia."
• The Daily Item / Susquehanna Valley reported "More than 140 fugitives were arrested in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, which includes Northumberland, Montour, Snyder and Union counties. ... A spokesperson from the Williamsport office of the U.S. Marshals Service said that approximately 25 arrests were made in the area, including many in Northumberland County. ... The spokesperson said two arrests were in Snyder County, one in Montour County and three in Columbia County. ... Of the total arrests, 11 percent were on federal warrants and 89 percent were on state or local warrants."
• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported "In Western Pennsylvania, ... 101 people were arrested through" April 12th.

South Carolina: USMS 128

• Greenville Online reported "128 of them in South Carolina"; also see "Statistics of Arrests in South Carolina".

South Dakota: USMS 27

• KELOLAND Television reported 28 in South Dakota ...

Tennessee: USMS 785

• Local: East/Chattanooga 206, Middle 327
• WTVC 9 Chattanooga reported "more than 200 people have been arrested locally alone"
• The Chattanoogan reported "More than 200 felony warrants were cleared by physical arrests throughout East Tennessee"
• Tennessean.com reported "Feds arrest 327 fugitives in Midstate" ... "The local goal was to arrest 700, mostly violent fugitives in seven days." ... "The 327 suspects arrested in Middle Tennessee during Operation FALCON had a total of 675 charges among them."
• News Channel 9 (Chattanooga) reported 3 - "Three people have been arrested in what's called Operation Falcon in Hamilton County."
• Cleveland Banner reported "223 people were arrested in Hamilton, Bradley and other counties." ... "rounding up 63 fugitives in Bradley County. ... cleared 123 warrants"
• WBIR Knoxville reported "The US Marshall's office picked up 206 fugitives in East Tennessee. They also issued warrants for 223 others already in custody on different charges."

Texas: USMS 902

• Local: Austin 15, North Texas 243, West Texas 301, Corpus Christi area 32
• KXAN TV 36 reported 15 in Austin
• CBS 11 Dallas/Fort Worth reported "Some 30 North Texas police agencies participated. ... They arrested 243 fugitives and cleared 427 warrants. ... Nine weapons and about 30 pounds of narcotics were also seized."
• KDBC 4 reported "... 301 in West Texas, 83 in El Paso alone."
• El Paso Times reported "yielded 83 arrests in El Paso" ... "216 outstanding warrants in the area"

Utah: USMS 42

• Salt Lake City Tribune reported "more than 60 arrests, most of them between Ogden and the southern end of the Salt Lake valley."

Virginia: USMS 151

• Local: Western Virginia 30, Northern Virginia 58, Richmond 38
• WSLS 10 reported "30 people in western Virginia, including four in Pulaski County"
• Washington Post reported "Northern Virginia, Operation Falcon made 58 fugitive arrests, including 15 for assault, 12 for narcotics violations, two for robbery and four for weapons violations."
• COX.net for Roanoke reported "Catches 38 Fugitives In Richmond"

Washington: USMS 81

• The Seattle Times reported 68 - "First, they made a list of the top 250 bad guys in Western Washington. They then divided the list into eight and sent out teams to track down fugitives wanted for a slew of violent crimes, arresting 68 of them last week."
• KOMO TV Seattle reported "68 fugitives from Western Washington were behind bars"

West Virginia: USMS 126

• NBC 25 reported "65 fugitives were captured in the northern part of West Virginia - almost half wanted on domestic battery charges."

Wisconsin: USMS 52

• gmtoday reported "southeastern Wisconsin ... nabbing 13 people in Waukesha County alone"

Wyoming: USMS 49

• Associated Press reported "resulted in arrests of 48 outlaws in Wyoming. ... Sixty felony arrest warrants from Wyoming jurisdictions were cleared off the books. About half were for drugs, while another quarter were for assaults, including sexual assaults. None of the warrants from Wyoming were for murder."
• Denver Post / Fort Morgan Times reported "U.S. marshals apprehended 63 fugitives in Colorado, 49 in Wyoming and 162 in New Mexico."

DC/VA/MD: USMS 301 (all of DC + VA + MD)

• Fox News 5 reported 313 "For the Washington region, which includes DC, Maryland and eastern Virginia, 313 fugitives were arrested, including five for homicide."