SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 17, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A partnership involving 18 law enforcement agencies across Utah is helping the United States Marshals Service capture record numbers of the state’s most violent and dangerous criminals, officials said Tuesday.
“The Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team is a task force within the USMS, made up of officers from various city, county, state and federal agencies with the mission of apprehending fugitives with a violent criminal history,” said a news release from the Utah U.S. Marshals Service.
The USMS is the only federal law enforcement agency whose primary enforcement mission is to assist state and local agencies capture state and local criminals, the news release said. To do this, members from VFAST come together to share data and experience while conducting frequent enforcement missions. VFAST has more than 90 Task Force officers who are deputized Deputy U.S. Marshals, and one full-time Task Force Officer.
In Federal Fiscal Year 2019, from Oct. 1 2018, to Sept. 30, 2019, VFAST members arrested 804 fugitives.
“Sixty-five percent of those fugitives were warrants from state/local agencies, and 93 percent of these fugitives had a violent criminal history,” the news release said. “Roughly 10 percent of our arrests were illegal criminal aliens who committed violent crimes in the United States while being in the United States illegally; 50 had been previously deported, several many times.”
The USMS utilizes resources to apprehend the most violent fugitives in our community, the news release said.
“Several of these fugitives were wanted for sexual abuse of children, bank robbery, homicide, and dealing dangerous drugs,” the news release said. “The USMS made arrests from Nevada to the Idaho border, and fugitives were found hiding in more than half of Utah’s 29 counties. Fugitives who had committed violent crimes in Utah were also arrested in 18 separate states by the USMS.”
In FFY 2019, VFAST members adopted cases, where an agency gives the USMS apprehension authority, from 25 separate state or local jurisdictions in the State of Utah. The breakdown for adoptions is as follows:
Adult Probation and Parole: 245
West Jordan PD: 72
Unified Police Department: 49
West Valley City PD: 32
Herriman PD: 9
South Salt Lake PD: 8
Cottonwood Heights PD: 7
Sandy PD: 6
Uinta County Sheriff: 6
Syracuse PD: 5
Similarly, the USMS arrested violent fugitives in 71 separate jurisdictions. The majority of these arrests occurred in the following cities:
Salt Lake City: 178
West Valley City: 89
Ogden: 70
West Jordan: 62
Midvale: 20
St. George: 20
Kearns: 17
Taylorsville: 16
Sandy: 15
Vernal: 14
The crime categories of these arrests are as follows:
Drugs: 168
Assault/Aggravated Assault: 128
Sex Offenses/Rape: 67
Weapon Offenses: 55
Robbery: 48
Homicide: 9
Immigration/Reentry: 8
Kidnapping: 5
In FFY 2020, from Oct. 1 to the present, the USMS Task Force has arrested 115 people with the majority of cases arresting on warrants issued out of West Jordan PD, West Valley PD and the Unified Police Department. Most of these arrests have occurred in Salt Lake City and Ogden.
The majority of these fugitives were arrested for drug distribution, assault and sex offenses.
In addition to the task force, the USMS has a role in the implementation of the Adam Walsh Act. In 2006, Congress granted authority to the USMS to assist state and local agencies with locating and apprehending sex offenders who fail to comply with local registration requirements. In FY 2019, the USMS arrested 13 persons who were charged for failing to register as a sex offender in Utah, the news release said. Ten of these defendants were charged federally, and three were charged in state court.
“These deputies and task force members are dedicated public servants, and mothers and fathers in our communities,” said United States Marshal Matthew D. Harris. “Many give up traditional home lives, missing family dinners, children’s extracurricular activities, and other family events to ensure that our communities are safe.
“While this work can place additional stressors on the family, these women and men are steadfast and determined to keep our communities and their hometowns protected from the most violent among us. If you are a fugitive from justice, hiding in an attic, in the desert, on a campground, in the mountains, on a reservation or anywhere in this state, the Marshal Service and our VFAST partners will find you.”
