WASHINGTON — The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) put together a task force aimed at reducing the amount of violent crime in D.C. and the Capital Region.
Operation Nazare Wave ran between April and September and ended with 826 people on the run for different crimes being arrested. Of those 800+ people, 63 were wanted in connection to homicide investigations.
Officials recovered 54 guns, seized 6.4kg worth of drugs, and over $1.1 million.
“From April to September, the U.S. Marshals Service brought together more than 30 law enforcement agencies spanning the Washington, D.C. area to arrest 826 fugitives and seize significant quantities of firearms and narcotics. I am deeply grateful to every Deputy U.S. Marshal and law enforcement partner who took part in this operation,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
Although this operation focused on D.C., officials arrested people across 19 different districts throughout the country and some internationally. Reports say some fugitives who were arrested were wanted in connection to crimes outside of the DMV area but fled here.
Significant arrests include:
- On July 31, based on information developed by CARFTF, the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force and Prince George's County Police assisted a special branch of the Guyana police in locating Rakeem Gilgeours, who fled the country following a July 4 shooting that resulted in the death of a 6-year-old boy and injuries to other community members who had gathered to celebrate the holiday at a Temple Hills, Maryland, park. CARFTF arrested Gilgeours in Miami after Guyana deported him.
- On June 1, Emmanuel Sewell was arrested in Putnam County, West Virginia, by the Southern District of West Virginia Violent Offender Task Force, in collaboration with CARFTF. Sewell, a registered sex offender, was wanted in Montgomery County, Maryland, in connection with the May 31 death of Maryland Parole and Probation Officer David Martinez in his Chevy Chase home. Martinez was Sewell’s probation officer.
- On April 29, CARFTF arrested a 16-year-old juvenile in Suitland, Maryland, for aggravated assault with a gun and attempted murder following an April 19 shooting at a Greenbelt park where a large group of teens had gathered for a senior skip day. A search warrant executed at the suspect’s mother’s house, where he’d been staying, yielded $246,780 in currency, 40.5 grams of crack cocaine, and two handguns.
