Fugitive Finders: US Marshals team with local officers to catch wanted criminals in the Carolinas

CHARLOTTE — “This is the U.S. Marshals Office,” an agent says outside of a North Carolina home. “We have a warrant for your arrest. Come out with your hands up.”

Those are the words heard by fugitives in the Carolinas before they’re surrounded by deputy marshals and local law enforcement officers and then taken into custody. For the dozens of wanted criminals in the area, the U.S. Marshals Office says it’s just a matter of time before they’re behind bars.

A task force of deputy marshals and officers from police and sheriff departments have been working to apprehend wanted criminals in North Carolina and South Carolina for months. The task force is revealing the effects of their efforts after wrapping up this week.

Channel 9′s Genevieve Curtis got full access with the task force for seven days as they worked through Gaston and York counties.

Operation Washout was the task force’s first joint operation after the Carolinas Regional Task Force was created by US Congress in 2018. The task force has one purpose: catching violent offenders in the Carolinas.

The criminals targeted by the marshals include people wanted for murder, drug trafficking, and sex crimes. Some of the fugitives have already been convicted, while others are accused of skipping bail and going on the run before facing their charges.

“These aren’t just one-offs,” said Cmdr. Brian Alfano with the US Marshals Office. “These are people that have multiple warrants, multiple violations or crimes of violence. The problem is, they’re not going to stop.”

Five specialized teams consisted of deputy marshals, local law enforcement, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and state troopers. They chased down leads and watched their targets before moving in to make the arrests.

In Gaston County, one team was looking for Floyd Wright, who was wanted for trafficking methamphetamine and having a stolen gun.

“He’s armed, he’s always armed in all of the deals we’ve done,” Alfano said.

Police say Wright had threatened to kill any law enforcement officers trying to arrest him.

“He’d always brag about, ‘When the cops come, I’m going to shoot them,’” Alfano said. “He’s got a lengthy history, a lot of assaults, a bunch of weapons charges; he’s not a nice guy.”

Spotted in Gaston County

Channel 9 was with the team as they went to a property where Wright was suspected to be. When the moment was right, the task force team moved in and quickly surrounded the property, shouting, “Show me your hands,” as they opened the door.

Within 10 minutes, Wright was in custody. The officers executed a search warrant at the property and found a sawed-off shotgun and a gun that was reportedly stolen. Both of those guns could result in federal charges.

Elsewhere in Gaston County, a team moved slowly and methodically through the woods to a tent.

Their target: a child sex offender. The marshals say their mission is to get to dangerous criminals before they strike again.

FUGITIVE FINDERS:

• Part 1: Fugitive Finders: US Marshals team with local officers to catch wanted criminals in the Carolinas
• Part 2: Fugitive Finders: When does law enforcement cross state lines to capture wanted criminals?
• Part 3: Fugitive Finders: As crime rates rise, US Marshals tackle repeat offenders
• Part 4: Fugitive Finders: Meet the furriest member of the US Marshals’ task force
• Part 5: Fugitive Finders: The search for a Kannapolis double-homicide suspect

“We all live here,” Alfano said. “It’s a big reason why a lot of the members of this task force take violent crime and surge of violent crime so personal; because we live here, too, right? We’re raising our families here as well.”

According to the US Attorney’s Office, a total of 91 suspects were taken into custody during the operation. But Alfano says there are always more to be found.

>>Watch Channel 9′s LIVE STREAM wherever you are, at this link.

“Oh, we don’t stop. Doesn’t matter where you go ... where you think you can hide. We’re going to find you and you will go to jail,” Alfano said.

(WATCH BELOW: N.Y. fugitive found in Charlotte; arrested by U.S. Marshals)

N.Y. fugitive found in Charlotte; arrested by U.S. Marshals N.Y. fugitive found in Charlotte; arrested by U.S. Marshals

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