On Wed., June 20, 2018 the United States Marshals Service (USMS), Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force (PNVOTF) ended a ten day long operation (nicknamed “Hopscotch”) in three separate counties that resulted in sixty-two (62) violent offenders being taken off the street.
The criminal histories of those violent offenders amounted to 1,403 pages.
“The goal of the operation was to reduce violent crime within Eastern Washington’s Grant, Chelan and Douglas Counties and help build strong working relationships with the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in those respective communities,” said Craig Thayer, United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Washington.
The operation targeted persons wanted for violent felonies including:
- homicide, kidnapping, sexual assault, robbery, assault, threats, arson, extortion, burglary, home invasion, carjacking, drugs (manufacture, sale and distribution), sex offenses, obscenity, cruelty toward child/spouse, obstructing the police, flight (escape), weapon offenses, gang related crimes, crimes against persons, and obstruction of justice
The U.S. Marshals Service partnered with Chelan County Sheriff’s, Douglas County Sheriff’s, East Wenatchee Police Department, Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Moses Lake Police Department, Wenatchee Police Department, Washington State Department of Corrections, and the Washington State Fusion Center in order to target and arrest some of the most dangerous felons in these areas.
“The U.S. Marshals Service is very appreciative of the partnerships we have with the city, county, state, and other federal law enforcement agencies that worked diligently to make this operation a huge success,” added Marshal Thayer.
“Sixty-Two violent offenders with active warrants were arrested and taken to jail. Our communities are safer as a result of these cooperative efforts that help to hold these violent offenders accountable to the criminal justice system.”
(See a brief introduction to the United States Marshals Service narrated by John Walsh from America’s Most Wanted. Courtesy of Shane T. McCoy and YouTube.)
The PNVOTF is a U.S. Marshals Service sponsored partnership comprised of federal, state and local law enforcement officers from Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
Their primary mission is to locate, arrest, and return to the justice system the most violent, most egregious federal and state fugitives.
In the Eastern District of Washington, the PNVOTF is comprised of full-time members from the Yakima County Sherriff’s Office, Benton County Sherriff’s Office, Kennewick Police Department, Washington State Department of Corrections, and U.S. Border Patrol with part-time members from agencies spread throughout the district.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
