More than 300 violent criminals were arrested in New York City over a the span of a month during an initiative launched by the U.S. Marshals Service to capture violent fugitives, the agency announced Wednesday.
NYC had more arrests than any of the other nine cities where the initiative, Operation North Star, took place from June 1-30 in order to capture what were labeled as the nation's "most violent offenders."
The initiative concentrated on fugitives from the law who had been wanted for serious and violent crimes, such as homicide, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault. Offenders who used firearms in their crimes and those with more violent risk factors were prioritized in the program, the Marshals Service said.
"The overwhelming success of collaborative law enforcement operations as demonstrated in Operation North Star proves the concept that at the national level, an integrated strategy can be implemented at the local level with the confidence and support of our community," said Ralph Sozio, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York.
Among the fugitives arrested in NYC, 41 were wanted for homicide or attempted murder. Nearly a third (109 in all) of those taken into custody were wanted for robbery, while another 84 were sought for aggravated assault; 23 were nabbed for sexual assault, according to a release by the Marshals Service.
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One of the highest-profile arrests involved Travis Blake, the man wanted wanted in connection with the triple homicide of two women and another man in Queens in June — a brutal case that involved bound hands and puncture wounds. Members of the Regional Fugitive Task Force apprehended Blake, of Queens, in Maine on June 29 at a restaurant in Bar Harbor with the help of local law enforcement agencies.
A 22-year-old man, Dionte Mitchell, had been wanted after he allegedly shot and killed two women after a fight at a party. Another man, 21-year-old Jaden Baskerville, was arrested in Brooklyn on June 9 after law enforcement said he conducted a drive-by shooting that led to a 7-year-old girl getting injured.
Al Ashraf Khalil was arrested on June 24 for an alleged arson that resulted in the death of Philadelphia firefighter Lt. Sean Williamson.
"The goal of Operation North Star was not only to take violent fugitives off of the streets of New York City but to listen and speak to the community about the United States Marshals Service goals and policies that are used to address violent crime," said U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of New York Vincent DeMarco.
The other cities included in the initiative were New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Indianapolis, Memphis, Houston, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Marshals Service said that each of the cities had seen an increase in homicides and shootings recently.
"This month-long, nationwide operation is a perfect example of how public safety is most definitely a shared responsibility," said NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. "It was about targeted, intelligence-driven crime fighting – and above all else, it was about consequences. If you commit a violent crime in our city, we will find you."
