SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 14, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — The United States Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Apprehension Team arrested its record-breaking 725th fugitive across Utah in 2018, officials said Wednesday.
A news release from the U.S. Marshals Service said the 725th fugitive arrested was Cody Lynn Parris, 24, wanted for placing a hoax explosive device outside an elementary school in Kearns in 2016. Parris was arrested in Salt Lake City after a foot pursuit that resulted in the arresting officer breaking his leg, the press release said.
Fugitives have been captured from Nevada to the Idaho border, including in more than half of Utah’s 29 counties. Of the 725 arrests, 95 percent of those apprehended have a violent criminal past including homicide, rape, armed robbery and assault and over two-thirds of those apprehended were arrested on state and local warrants.
The successes of VFAST are a direct result of Utah’s strong law enforcement partnerships, the news release said.
- Of these 725 arrests, 40 included illegal immigrants wanted for violent crimes including murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery, and drug distribution. Of the 40 illegal immigrants captured, 25 had been previously deported and 15 were deported multiple times. An illegal immigrant arrested for drug distribution had been previously deported seven times. Two others were arrested for child rape that they committed in Utah after they had been previously deported from the United States and illegally reentered the country.
Arrests examples include:
- A Mississippi man who murdered his wife over Mother’s Day weekend and sought refuge in Utah’s campgrounds was captured in July after a Division of Natural Resources officer spotted him in a secluded camping area around Bear Lake.
- A Vernal man arrested by Uinta County Sheriff’s Office, Vernal PD and VFAST who had multiple statewide warrants, including felony charges for narcotic distribution, and has a history of being violent with law enforcement. Officers deployed the use of a K-9 due to the subject being uncooperative. The K-9 successfully extracted the subject from a closet and he was safely taken into custody. Multiple firearms were located throughout the home.
- A man tracked to Wendover, Nevada who had been wanted on both federal and state charges since February 2018 after shooting at West Valley PD during a vehicle stop.
- A Layton man wanted for child rape who had fled to Thailand for over two years was arrested upon his return to the U.S.
- A man wanted in Bosnia for committing war crimes that included murdering and torturing Bosnia Serbs was arrested in West Valley City in September by VFAST.
- A man and known gang member wanted by Tooele County Sheriff for questioning in a random shooting of a family in Middle Canyon on Oct. 4, 2018. When apprehended, the vehicle he was a passenger in intentionally crashed into two law enforcement vehicles. He is awaiting federal drug distribution charges.
- A female who harbored and aided the escape of a murder fugitive who fled to Texas. The man was wanted for shooting and killing a man in Magna.
- An arrest with the St. George Police Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Utah Highway Patrol in St. George of a Springville fugitive accused of domestic assault who threatened to kill his ex-wife and his children.
“Since the start of 2018, Utah has seen a steep decline in violent crime. It’s no coincidence that crime rate drop and our record-breaking number of arrests have collided,” said U.S. Marshal Matthew D. Harris.
The United States Marshal Service worked jointly in these investigations with officers from our VFAST Task Force. Federal partners included Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
VFAST is a USMS multi-agency task force, led by Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Derryl Spencer, dedicated primarily to the apprehension of dangerous federal, state and local fugitives. Over 90 officers statewide have been deputized as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals. VFAST partners include Unified PD, West Valley City PD, West Jordan PD, St. George PD, Uinta County Sheriff, Vernal PD, Sandy PD, South Salt Lake PD, Orem PD, Clinton PD, Syracuse PD and the Department of Corrections- Adult Probation and Parole.
