Category: US Marshals Service

Source: US Marshals Service

San Francisco, CA – On June 25, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Northern District of California arrested in San Francisco a former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employee wanted for violating pre-trial conditions by unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and fleeing to a foreign country.

Johnny Q. Nguyen, 49, is alleged to have run a fraudulent mail scheme from July to December 2024, stealing over $90,000 from businesses and charities in Washington and California by sending fake government letters demanding fees. Nguyen allegedly funneled the money through an LLC shell company and laundered the proceeds via transfers and cash withdrawals. Authorities intercepted an additional $395,000 in intended payments.

In May, Nguyen was indicted by a grand jury in the Western District of Washington on several charges, including mail fraud and money laundering. After a court appearance in the Northern District of California June 17, he was ordered to surrender his passport and restrict his travel. However, on June 24, he used a concealed passport to flee the U.S. on a one-way flight to Vietnam.

On June 25, the U.S. Marshals learned of Nguyen’s flight and alerted the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, who intercepted Nguyen on a layover in Taipei, Taiwan, and put him on a return flight to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). U.S. Marshals took him into custody upon arrival at SFO and he was transported and booked into Santa Clara County Jail without incident. 

On June 26, Nguyen appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen for the Northern District of California and was ordered detained and transferred to the Western District of Washington in custody to appear on the charges. The mail fraud and money laundering case is being investigated by the U.S Postal Inspection Service. 

Source: US Marshals Service

Oklahoma City, OK – The U.S. Marshals Oklahoma City Metro Fugitive Task Force, along with the Oklahoma City Police Department, acting on a collateral lead from the U.S. Marshals Florida Caribbean Fugitive Task Force, Tuesday arrested a woman wanted in a first-degree murder in Florida.

Neha Gupta, 36, of Oklahoma City, was taken into custody without incident at about 2:45 p.m. at a residence in the 200 block of NW 152nd Street in Edmond.

Gupta is alleged to have murdered her 4-year-old daughter, who was found floating in a backyard pool early Friday morning at a residence in the El Portal village of Miami.

Paramedics rushed the girl from the home, located near NW 90th Street and NW 1st Avenue, to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

On June 30, a warrant was issued out of Miami-Dade County charging Gupta with first-degree murder.

“The arrest of Neha Gupta by the U.S. Marshals in Western Oklahoma working a collateral lead is a prime example of good communication and teamwork by dedicated officers,” said U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Oklahoma Johnny Kuhlman. “Ms. Gupta is facing a serious criminal charge and getting her into custody to face that charge was a priority for law enforcement.”

“This individual is accused of committing a horrendous act and her swift arrest illustrates the professionalism, communication, and teamwork of all agencies involved,” said Gadyaces Serralta, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida. “I extend my sincere gratitude to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, Oklahoma City Police Department, and the Oklahoma City Metro Fugitive Task Force.”

The Oklahoma City Metro Fugitive Task Force mission is to locate and arrest federal, state and local fugitives. It is made up of law enforcement officers from the following participating agencies: U.S. Marshals Service, Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department, Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, Comanche County Detention Center, Edmond Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, Oklahoma City Police Department, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics, Midwest City Police Department, Shawnee Police Department, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Since 2008, the USMS Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force has focused resources and efforts on the enhancement of public safety and the reduction of violence within the Florida/Caribbean Region through the identification, investigation, and apprehension of fugitives wanted for egregious crimes against the community, while ensuring the equal application of Justice, Integrity, and Service for all. The FCRFTF has partnership agreements with federal, state and local agencies that operate in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The FCRFTF has apprehended more than 67,000 fugitives since its inception and is always striving to make communities safer. 

Source: US Marshals Service

Cedar Rapids, IA – U.S. Marshals in Florida today arrested a man wanted on several sex abuse charges in Iowa. 

Tyler Michael Treadaway, 27, is wanted in Iowa County in connection to multiple charges of sexual abuse (second-degree) of multiple children. 

On April 21 investigators with the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force requesting assistance in the location and apprehension of Treadaway. Task force officers began to follow up on leads throughout the Midwest and developed information indicating Treadaway had fled following the reports of abuse. Officials began coordinating with the U.S. Marshals Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force (FCRFTF). 

Officers with the FCRFTF today narrowed their search to an area in the 4900 block of Lofty Pines Circle West in Jacksonville.  U.S. Marshals approached the suspect shortly after noon and Treadaway eventually surrendered to the officers.  Treadaway was arrested without incident and transported for processing.  He will remain in custody until extradition to Iowa.

The U.S. Marshals Service is the federal government’s primary agency for fugitive investigations. Nationwide, 60 local task forces are dedicated to violent crime reduction by locating and apprehending wanted criminals. These task forces also serve as the central point for agencies to share information on fugitive matters. The Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force is comprised of officers from the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Waterloo Police Department, Marion Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Iowa Department of Corrections. 

Source: US Marshals Service

Philadelphia, PA — Members of the U.S. Marshals Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force and Deportation Officers from Immigration Customs Enforcement in Philadelphia, Monday afternoon arrested a Dominican Republic man wanted for violations of 8 USC 1326, Re-Entry After Deportation, along with five other men, also from Dominican Republic.

Source: US Marshals Service

Washington, DC – The U.S. Marshals Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, along with the Hyattsville Police Department, arrested on Friday a suspect involved in a high-profile double shooting and robbery that injured two people in November 2024.

Devin Demetrius Spivey, 21, was taken into custody at about 6:30 a.m. at a home in the 9100 block of Cherry Lane in Laurel, Maryland.

Spivey faces 18 charges, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, armed robbery, and stalking.

The double shooting and robbery happened Nov. 5, 2024, in the 2500 block of Kirkwood Place. Spivey is one of five suspects wanted for targeting a man and woman who were coming back from dinner. The victims survived their injuries.

“The arrest of Devin Spivey by members of the Marshals Service Task Force is a perfect example of what a team of dedicated federal and local law enforcement officers can accomplish together,” says Clinton J. Fuchs, United States Marshal for the District of Maryland. 

“This arrest is a crucial step toward justice for the victims and safety for our community,” said Chief Jarod Towers. “Our officers worked tirelessly alongside our law enforcement partners to identify and apprehend the suspect. We hope this provides some relief to the victims and everyone involved.”

“This was a senseless act of violence, and our office will continue to work to hold these violent offenders accountable,” says Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson. “We want to thank the City of Hyattsville Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, as well as the Prince George’s County Police Department, the attorneys and investigators, and our federal partners for their work on this case.”

This remains an active investigation. Anyone with any information about the shooting is encouraged to call the Hyattsville PD at (301) 985-5060 or send tips via the U.S. Marshals Tip App.

The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force focuses resources and efforts on the enhancement of public safety and the reduction of violence within the National Capital Region through the identification, investigation, and apprehension of fugitives wanted for egregious crimes against the community, while ensuring the equal application of Justice, Integrity, and Service for all.

Source: US Marshals Service

Davenport, IA – From May 19 – June 20, U.S. Marshals from the Southern District of Iowa, Northern District of Iowa, and Central District of Illinois, joined forces with law enforcement officers from the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Bettendorf Police Department, and Iowa Department of Corrections to conduct a five-week long fugitive operation in Scott County, Iowa, and surrounding communities.  

The local operation dubbed “Operation River Run”  (ORR) resulted in the arrests of 52 fugitives wanted on outstanding local, state, and/or federal arrest warrants.  Each of the individuals arrested during Operation River Run had pending criminal charges for crimes involving homicide, guns, drugs, assaults, sex offenses, or other crimes of violence and/or criminal histories of convictions for such crimes. 

Operation River Run was divided into three phases- from May 19-June 1, participating agencies selected arrest warrants to work during the enforcement phase of the operation and began developing credible information as to the whereabouts of the fugitives. From June 2-4, three teams of law enforcement officers representing 11 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies participated in the three-day enforcement phase. During the follow-up phase from June 5-20, ORR investigators continued to locate and arrest several additional individuals not previously located during the enforcement phase. Most of these individuals were arrested in Scott County and Rock Island County, Illinois, while the arrest of others spanned between Sioux City Iowa and Chicago Illinois.

“In our work with local, state, and federal agencies, our commitment to serving the community remains unchanged,” said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Iowa George Mavromatis. “We are all devoted to honoring our oaths of office and tirelessly working to combat violent crime in our communities. The achievements of Operation River Run highlight our shared dedication to collaboration among all professionals in the Southern District of Iowa.” 

The Southern Iowa Fugitive Task Force- Davenport Division is composed of the following federal, state and local agencies: U.S. Marshals Service, Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office, Burlington Police Department, Fort Madison Police Department, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Ottumwa Police Department, Iowa Department of Corrections Fugitive Team, Coralville Police Department, and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations.

Source: US Marshals Service

Albuquerque, NM – The U.S. Marshals Service Southwest Investigative Fugitive Team on June 26 arrested near Coal Avenue SE and University Boulevard SE here a New Mexico man wanted for two felony warrants.

Jonathan Torres, 38, was wanted for a New Mexico state felony warrant out of Metropolitan Court, charging him with murder, kidnapping, three counts of aggravated assault against a household member, aggravated assault, felon in possession of a firearm, and battery against a household member. 

Additionally, Torres was wanted for a federal probation violation warrant, following a 2024 federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

“The United States Marshals Service is dedicated to joining forces with our law enforcement partners to reduce violent crime,” said U.S. Marshal for the District of New Mexico David O. Barnett, Jr. “We are committed to working together to improve the lives of our New Mexico communities.”

Following his arrest, Torres was booked into the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center, with a federal detainer attached.

This arrest was the result of efforts by multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the Albuquerque Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico State Police, the New Mexico Department of Corrections-Probation and Parole and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Anyone with information on wanted fugitives is urged to contact the nearest U.S. Marshals office, the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102 or submit information via the USMS Tips App.

Source: US Marshals Service

Hato Rey, PR – One person was killed as the U.S. Marshals Violent Offenders Task Force and Puerto Rico Police early Monday arrested in Mayaguez a man wanted for attempted murder and other charges on a warrant that carried a bail of $1.2 million.

Jose M. Rodriguez-Torres, aka “La J,” 26, the subject of the arrest and one of Puerto Rico’s 10 Most Wanted fugitives, was wanted on a state warrant for attempted murder, possession, transportation and use of firearms without a license, and tampering with an electronic monitoring device.

Rodríguez-Torres had removed his electronic monitoring bracelet during his trial for the 2021 attempted murder of the chief executive of the company Flan-es-Cedó. He had been convicted in absentia for a June 27, 2021, massacre on PR-3345 in the Lavadero neighborhood of Hormigueros, where two brothers were killed, and was sentenced to 229 years in prison for that case. In addition, he had an active federal warrant issued in 2023 for drug trafficking and firearms charges.

While law enforcement officers were executing the arrest warrant, they identified Rodríguez-Torres, along with two other individuals in a car. When the fugitive spotted the agents, he attempted to flee, driving against traffic until crashing into an official vehicle.

According to preliminary reports, one of the rear passengers brandished a black firearm, prompting agents to return fire. The individual was identified as José A. Chevrés Ramos, 29, a resident of Cabo Rojo with a prior criminal record for robbery. He was fatally shot by agents during the pursuit. Chevrés Ramos also had pending warrants for his arrest.

The FBI and the Puerto Rico Special Investigations Bureau assisted in the investigation but did not assume jurisdiction. The Criminal Investigation Corps of the Puerto Rico Police Department is handling the investigation, and the state prosecutor’s office has formally filed charges with the court. The judge found cause for all the charges filed against Rodríguez-Torres and Eliezer Graniela-Barreto (also a passenger in the vehicle), including attempted murder of federal agents and pointing a firearm at law enforcement.

A bail bond of $4,200,000 was set but not posted, and both individuals were subsequently booked into state prison.

Three firearms were seized from the vehicle and will be analyzed by the Forensic Sciences Institute’s ballistics laboratory. Two of the three weapons had been modified to fire automatically.

“Our communities can trust that our Deputy U.S. Marshals, together with our partners from the Puerto Rico Police Department, will not relent in their efforts to remove violent offenders from our streets and bring them to justice,” said Wilmer Ocasio-Ibarra, U.S. Marshal for the District of Puerto Rico. “Enforcing the law and ensuring public safety is dangerous work, and unfortunately, incidents like these are sometimes the result. We always urge fugitives to surrender, accept responsibility, and face the consequences of their actions. However, we will not stop. We will continue to search for them and fulfill our mission as agents of law and order.”

The U.S. Marshals Service encourages the community to continue to collaborate with our deputies on tips that help find the whereabouts of a fugitive by contacting our local office at (787) 766-6540, calling the U.S. Marshals Service Communication Center at 1 (800) 336-0102, or submitting tips using the USMS Tips App.

Source: US Marshals Service

Washington, DC – May 23rd was a busy day for Deputy U.S. Marshals Christopher Barton and Seth Howlett, assigned to the Eastern District of Texas – Beaumont Division. After successfully clearing three felony warrants in the morning, they came upon an accident on the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge near Jefferson County, Texas, and noticed traffic had just begun to slow.

As they were driving by, the deputies noticed there was a man lying on the side of the highway with no law enforcement or medical services on the scene. The deputies immediately activated their emergency lights and pulled over to assess the situation.

A motorcycle and SUV had been involved in an accident.  After exiting their vehicle and arriving at the motorcycle, the deputies noticed the motorcycle rider was unresponsive and had visible serious injuries, to include severe bleeding from his leg.

“My main goal was to activate my emergency lights and get people away from that area to prevent additional accidents,” Barton said. “And then when we rolled up, clearly he had a compound fracture, so we were able to help.”

“Initially, it appeared that there wasn’t much we could do for him; it was pretty bad. You could just tell from looking at him,” Howlett said.

The deputies jumped into action, accessing their modified individual first aid kit and swiftly applying a tourniquet to the upper portion of the rider’s leg that was afflicted with the compound fracture – effectively stopping the bleeding.

As the rider regained consciousness, he was immediately reassured by deputies Barton and Howlett that he was in good hands.

Due to the gridlocked traffic on the bridge because of the accident, the responding emergency medical team was delayed. 

“There just wasn’t anybody out on the scene. So, we were just trying hold the line until more support arrived,” Barton said. “Thankfully, we were able to help. He’s very, very lucky to be alive.”

While Deputy Howlett stayed with the rider, offering continued encouragement, Deputy Barton ran to the ambulance and relayed the critical situation to the EMTs, who rushed a backboard to the injured rider.

Deputies later learned the individual was airlifted from the scene to a level one trauma center and underwent multiple surgeries for two broken legs, two broken arms, a broken collar bone, broken ribs, a broken nose, and a broken pelvis. 

“I’m not going to say the tourniquet saved his life, but I am sure he needed every drop of blood to help get himself healed,” Barton said. “I’m just happy for him and his family that he’s still around.”

For Barton, years of work with the Bureau of Prisons combined with the USMS training allowed him to act quickly.

“I worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons for 21 years, responded to a lot of stabbings and serious assaults,” Barton said. “So, there’s been times where I’ve had to apply direct pressure to open wounds that are profusely bleeding, conduct CPR chest compressions and things of that nature.”

Both men have responded to accidents or people in distress before, for Howlett, he said his muscle memory from training at the USMS Academy kicked in. 

“What they say at the Academy all the time is, ‘You don’t rise to the occasion, you fall back to the level of training that you have,’” Howlett said. “We should always set the bar of our training to the highest point possible, so that whenever we get into the stressful situation, it becomes instinctual.”

Howlett joined USMS last year and says there is a responsibility that comes with being a public servant.

“We are public servants at the end of the day, whether we’re law enforcement officers, although we don’t wear necessarily a uniform or drive a marked police vehicle, we are public servants, and we have a duty to the public to help, to serve, and to protect, and so I take that very seriously,” Howlett said.

For Barton, this dedication to serve is attributed to the fact that everyone is human.

“I would also encourage people not to lose sight of their humanity.  Everyone is somebody’s family member, right?” Barton said “We’re all human first. I don’t care who you are, what your pay grade is, we are all human.”

This incident is an example of one of many law enforcement professionals and Deputy U.S. Marshals quietly respond to, day in and day out, serving their communities.

Source: US Marshals Service

Washington, DC – The U.S. Marshals Service, Office of Public Affairs (OPA), received recognition during the 67th Capital Emmy Awards on Friday, Jun. 21.

The OPA video production team received the Emmy for best Crime/Justice Short Form Content for the short film Family Since 1789. The film features the challenging work/life dynamics of federal law enforcement and the sacrifices that come with being a deputy U.S. Marshal.

The recipients of the Emmy were Bennie Davis, director/photographer; Shane McCoy, photographer and Andrew Breese, producer. A full list of the award winners can be found here.

The National Capital Emmys were hosted by the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter and were held in Maryland at the North Bethesda Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.