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FALCON nabs 338 violent offenders, officials say
More than 300 violent fugitives, including known drug dealers, murder suspects and sex offenders, were taken off Philadelphia's streets last month, the U.S. Marshals announced yesterday.
The fugitives, 338 to be exact, were rounded up as part of Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally), which was one of the most extensive sweeps spearheaded by the U.S. Marshals in the Philadelphia region to date, Acting U.S. Marshal John Patrignani said at a news conference.
Roughly 50 percent more fugitives were apprehended in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania this year than last, in part because the operation was lengthened from one week in previous years to 30 days this year, Patrignani said.
The conference was attended by representatives of about a dozen of the more than 100 local law-enforcement agencies that collaborated with the marshals, including District Attorney Lynne Abraham and representatives from the Philadelphia police and state police.
"The cooperation we get enforcing laws and bringing in fugitives [in Philadelphia] is unprecendented in the United States," Patrignani said.
"We try to go after the worst of the worst."
As part of this year's operation, three men wanted in the June 14 shooting that injured Officer Ashley Hoggard, in North Philadelphia - Lawrence Peel, Dwayne Robinson and Barry Fleming - were apprehended within a week of the crime, Patrignani said.
The most recent effort focused on arresting sex offenders and clearing outstanding narcotics and homicide warrants.
Abraham said the operation was "extraordinarily successful" but called for better electronic monitoring of fugitives out on bail and for changes to bail conditions, citing thousands of cases in which suspects have absconded after being released on bail. *
