Three-county 'warrant sweep' nets 59 fugitives
Fifty-nine people facing charges ranging from robbery and car theft to failure to pay child support were rounded up this week in a "warrant sweep" of Philadelphia, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties, officials said Friday.
Fifty-nine people facing charges ranging from robbery and car theft to failure to pay child support were rounded up this week in a "warrant sweep" of Philadelphia, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties, officials said Friday.
And 25 fugitives were taken into custody Friday in and around Chester City, wanted on criminal charges including murder, rape, and weapons and drug offenses.
"This lets people know: If we have a warrant out for you, we'll be looking for you," Bucks Sheriff Edward "Duke" Donnelly said after the three-day, three-county sweep. "If you don't want to be embarrassed by us coming for you, turn yourself in."
It was the first such area sweep in nearly two years, "and it won't be the last one," Donnelly said. "We'll have three or four a year."
The warrants were for people who failed to show up in Common Pleas Court on domestic or criminal charges. Most of those served were taken into custody, with a few given time to turn themselves in.
By joining forces, deputies were able to serve warrants to suspects living in neighboring counties.
Deputies tried to serve an average of 80 warrants each day, Montgomery County Sheriff Eileen Behr said at a news conference at the Bensalem Township Police Department. They succeeded in serving 35 people wanted in Montgomery County, 14 in Bucks, and 10 in Philadelphia, she said.
"We had one domestic case in which more than $27,000 is owed," Behr said, "and another with more than $10,000 owed."
Five deputies from each county and Delaware County served the warrants for at least eight hours a day. Though Chester County did not participate, it is committed to the joint effort, Donnelly said.
"The deputies started about 4 a.m., when people are home," he said. "After 8 or 9 a.m., people are at work or are out."
Outstanding bench warrants are listed on the sheriff's page of each county's website. Those named can call the sheriff's department to turn themselves in, and relatives and friends can report tips, Donnelly said.
"A judge is the only one who can remove a warrant," he said. "Call us, and we'll get you before a judge."
In Chester, city police arrested 23 suspects, and two fugitives surrendered, in Phase One of the 2012 Street Crime Initiative, a city spokeswoman said.
"The purpose of the initiative is to get dangerous criminals off the street, to gather information of criminal activity for investigation, and to give citizens peace of mind by taking guns off the street," Summer Freeman said.
Assisting in the arrests were Delaware County sheriff's deputies and detectives, state probation and parole officers, and U.S. marshals.
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