Category: US Marshals Service

Source: US Marshals Service

Source: US Marshals Service

Cleveland, OH – Today, members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested Vernitez Bell, 36. Bell was wanted by the East Cleveland Police Department for homicide.

According to the East Cleveland Police Department, Bell is suspected in an April 4, 2023, shooting and death of Domonick Allen, 38, that took place in the 13000 block of 5th Avenue. East Cleveland police responded to the area where they found Allen’s body with no signs of life.

Bell was featured as the U.S. Marshal Service Fugitive of the Week back on December 18, and based on tips received from that, members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force developed information that Bell was residing at an address near the 13800 block of Argus Ave., Cleveland. Task force members arrested Bell at this residence today and then transported him to the East Cleveland Police Department for processing and questioning.

U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott stated, “Taking violent fugitives off the street is one of our primary responsibilities, and the men and women that make up the U.S. Marshals violent fugitive task force take pride in doing that everyday for the citizens of northern Ohio.”

Anyone with information concerning any wanted fugitive can contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833), or you can submit a web tip. Reward money is available, and tipsters may remain anonymous.  Follow the U.S. Marshals on Twitter @USMSCleveland.

The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force – Cleveland Division is composed of the following federal, state and local agencies:  U.S. Marshals Service, Cleveland Police Department, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Police Department, Euclid Police Department, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Independence Police Department, Parma Police Department, Aurora Police Department, Solon Police Department, Cleveland RTA Police Department, Westlake Police Department, Bedford Police Department, Middleburg Heights Police Department, Newburgh Heights Police Department and the Metrohealth Police Department. 

Source: US Marshals Service

Source: US Marshals Service

Columbus, OH –  Early this morning, members of the U.S. Marshals Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) arrested Ja’Vontae Jones, 22.  Jones was wanted by the Mansfield Police Department for murder.

Jones was wanted by Mansfield Police for the June 8, 2023, murders of Jonathan Ash, 18, and Nathan Carroll, 18.  Police responded to a vehicle crash and gunshots in the area of West Fourth St. and North Lake Park. Both were found shot to death in or near the vehicle.  

In December of last year, a warrant for Jones’ arrest was issued.  The warrant was turned over to the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) for investigation into where Jones may be hiding.  Investigators found that Jones was possibly living in Columbus.  This morning, SOFAST was able to locate Jones and arrest him at a home on Alumcrest Ln. in Columbus.

U.S. Marshal Michael Black stated, “Our Columbus community is safer today knowing this violent fugitive is off the streets.  Fugitives will not find a place to hide in Southern Ohio, they will be found, arrested and brought to justice for their crimes.”

Jones will remain in the Franklin County Jail until he can be extradited back to Mansfield to face the charges against him.    

U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott added, “Dedicated police work by the Mansfield Police Department and outstanding teamwork across the state of Ohio is what will continue to ensure justice for the community in Mansfield as well as across the state of Ohio.”

Anyone with information concerning a wanted fugitive can contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833), or you can submit a web tip. Reward money is available, and tipsters may remain anonymous.  Follow the U.S. Marshals on Twitter @USMSCleveland.  

The NOVFTF Mansfield Division consists of the following federal, state and local agencies:  United States Marshals Service, Mansfield Police Department, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Richland County Probation, Richland County Sheriff’s Office, Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, Bucyrus Police Department, Crestline Police Department, Galion Police Department, Huron County Sheriff’s Office, Lexington Police Department, Loudenville Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ontario Police Department, Plymouth Police Department, and Willard Police Department.

Source: US Marshals Service

Source: US Marshals Service

New Haven, CT —The U.S. Marshals in Connecticut and Maryland, along with West Haven Police and Prince George’s County, Maryland, Police Department, today arrested a man wanted out of Prince George’s County on murder and other charges stemming from a Dec. 24, 2023, shooting which left one man dead.

Michael Crawford, 52, of Maryland, was identified as the assailant in the Christmas Eve shooting, which occurred about 11:20 p.m. in the 2900 block of Ritchie Road in the District Heights area. Kevin Simmons, 53, of District Heights, was found with gunshot wounds inside a residence. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A warrant for Crawford’s arrest, charging him with first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, use of a firearm by a felon, reckless endangerment, and carrying a loaded handgun on his person.

Early today, members of the U.S. Marshals Connecticut Violent Fugitive Task Force, U.S. Marshals Capitol Area Fugitive Task Force, and West Haven Police Department arrested Crawford hiding out at a residence on Gregory Lane in West Haven.

Crawford was transported to the West Haven Police Department where he will be held pending extradition to Maryland.  

Since the inception of the U.S. Marshals – Connecticut Violent Fugitive Task Force in 1999, these partnerships have resulted in over 11,046 arrests (Updated as of 9/08/2022). The task force’s objective is to seek out and arrest violent fugitives and sexual predators. Membership agencies include Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Waterbury Police Departments and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These arrests have ranged in seriousness from murder, assault, unregistered sex offenders, probation and parole violations and numerous other serious offenses. Nationally the U.S. Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive task forces, eight regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.

Source: US Marshals Service

The true crime podcast Chasing Evil recently marked its one-year anniversary since debuting in October 2022. In early December, the Office of Public Affairs caught up with executive producer Christopher Godsick to talk about the series and discuss some insights into how the episodes are developed.

We asked about the podcast and what interests Godsick most about the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). “The mindset of the deputies who do the job, and secondly the details of the stories that most people find trivial I find fascinating. Normally, law enforcement is hidden behind a shield, if you will, and their personal thoughts and emotions are reserved for friends, sometimes family,” Godsick said. Godsick has produced work in the entertainment industry for decades. Most notable is his work as executive producer of the television series Veep and feature films Broken Arrow, Face/Off and The Replacement Killers. “I’ve been able to create an atmosphere where deputies are giving honest responses and enabling the general public to actually get to know them.” Godsick said he sees the Marshals Service as a very hands-on agency. “The fugitive hunting aspect is something that is for me very interesting because it requires so many different skill sets to conduct these manhunts. No other agency does that with the frequency and the expertise of the Marshals Service.”

Prior to developing the podcast, Godsick met with OPA to discuss ideas for potential projects. “I spoke to Dave Oney, and Dave suggested I learn more about the Marshals Service. I was skeptical and cynical. And I thought, why does the world need another law enforcement series? I went out and met with the New York, New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force. I started going out on some ride-alongs with them. And it took only one day before my mind was absolutely blown! Nothing that I had seen portrayed in television or film reflected the reality of what I was seeing on the street. It was much funnier, and much more dramatic at the same time. I thought, you know, this is a world worth exploring. I thought, how can I tell these stories? And, I approached the Marshals Service about a podcast to feature these stories,” Godsick explained.

Since the series began, Chasing Evil has aired 28 episodes. Godsick recalls his favorite episode being A Heavy Hitter in the Bronx. “This was a guy (Andre Sterling) who had shot a Massachusetts state trooper in Hyannis Port, Cape Cod, and was then tracked by the Marshals Service to a small apartment in the Bronx. The (USMS) team entered and Andre Sterling came out of one of the bedrooms moving toward them and shooting rapidly. Several of the marshals were hit or shot at,” explained Godsick. “To be able to then get the story of what it was like to be in such a shooting where your teammates were getting shot, while Andre Sterling was still on the move, and shooting and stepping over deputies to continue to engage the target until he was neutralized and hearing the story of how they saved the life of one of the deputies who was shot five times it was an extraordinarily dramatic story.”

While conducting his interviews, Godsick found a commonality among the people he spoke with-humor. “As the deputy who was shot five times told me, he tried to interject humor into the situation to put the other deputies at ease even though he was the one bleeding out. His concern was for them. I have found that there is nothing the Marshals Service doesn’t do that doesn’t have some element of humor. Some of the humor pops up at the most inappropriate time. It is clearly the number one coping mechanism to deal with all the stress and trauma. So, I was surprised at how much humor there was on a daily basis.” Acknowledging how events can quickly change, Godsick added that “the joking stops immediately as soon as the situation dictates.”

Another commonality Godsick said he noticed is the normalization of extremely intense events. “All the deputies try to suck out the drama and severity of the things that they’ve been through. Like…oh it must have been a Tuesday. And, as a podcaster, I’ve tried to heighten some of the drama, which is sometimes really hard when someone’s telling the story about how they got set on fire…but it was no big deal.”

During the course of collecting interviews, a few events stick out as most surprising to Godsick. “We were doing a podcast about the custody of El Chapo. I did not expect that the cartel would have somebody stationed in the lobby of the SOG members’ hotel. That they would be that brazen in their surveillance of the special operations. That surprised me!” “When we were doing the Bernie Madoff asset forfeiture story, I did not expect Bernie’s underwear and dirty socks to go over asking (at auction). There is no accounting for the public’s appetite for various types of memorabilia,” Godsick added.

The podcast continues to produce episodes that highlight the work of the Marshals Service. “We are currently cutting the episode on the rescue of the Tiger King tigers,” said Godsick. Future episodes will feature the murder of Moriah Wilson and apprehension of Kaitlain Armstong and the Mississippi jet ski prison escape of Sam Hartman.

When asked what he hopes people learn from the podcast Godsick explained, “I hope they’ll gain some insight into the kinds of people that do this job on a real basic human level. The successes, the frustrations, the complexity of some of these manhunts and the expertise that the marshals have developed in patterns of life and behavioral tendencies of their targets. And, of course there are the sacrifices. The time away from family, and fortunately on the more rare occasion, how some deputies and TFOs have made the ultimate sacrifice.” 

Source: US Marshals Service

Parma, OH – This afternoon, members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) arrested a 16-year-old who was wanted by the Cleveland Division of Police for aggravated murder.

According to the Cleveland Division of Police, on November 15, 2023, 3rd District officers were dispatched to the area of E. 93rd Street and Edmunds Avenue for a shooting. Upon arrival, officers located a 14-year-old victim who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and leg. The 14-year-old was later pronounced dead at University Hospital.

Today, members of the US Marshals, NOVFTF arrested the 16-year-old male at an address in the 3100 block of Augustine Drive in Parma. During the arrest attempt, the juvenile initially attempted to barricade himself in the house but eventually surrendered to officers.

U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott stated, “It is tragic that a 14-year-old was killed due to senseless gun violence. The US Marshals will continue to assist the Cleveland Division of Police in protecting the citizens of Cleveland by tracking down and arresting these violent fugitives.”

Anyone with information concerning any wanted fugitive can contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833), or you can submit a web tip. Reward money is available, and tipsters may remain anonymous.  Follow the U.S. Marshals on Twitter @USMSCleveland.

The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force – Cleveland Division is composed of the following federal, state and local agencies:  U.S. Marshals Service, Cleveland Police Department, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Police Department, Euclid Police Department, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Independence Police Department, Parma Police Department, Aurora Police Department, Solon Police Department, Cleveland RTA Police Department, Westlake Police Department, Bedford Police Department, Middleburg Heights Police Department, Newburgh Heights Police Department and the Metrohealth Police Department.

Source: US Marshals Service

Grand Junction, CO – A month’s long investigation into the whereabouts of two missing and endangered children believed to have been abducted by their biological grandmother has come to an end with both children recovered safely, and the grandmother arrested.

Wednesday afternoon, fugitive Jacqueline Ballard, 67, was arrested at a residence in the Willow Heights neighborhood of Hotchkiss, near the intersection of Ash Lane and Aspen Lane. During the initial search of the residence, law enforcement officers located both children, 9 and 10, who had been missing since May 30, 2023. Both children were taken into protective custody and are now in the care of Child Protective Services.

On July 1, 2023, a Deputy U.S. Marshal in Grand Junction, CO who is assigned to the Colorado Violent Offender Task Force (COVOTF) became aware of a missing child case out of Hotchkiss, CO. Coordination was done with the Hotchkiss Police Department and Colorado Bureau of Investigation for the COVOTF to begin assisting with the case and to enter the missing children into the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)’s national database.

On July 21, 2023, a felony arrest warrant was issued for Jacqueline Ballard by the Hotchkiss Police Department and Delta County courts charging her with violation of custody order (18-3-304(2)). This warrant was subsequently also adopted by the U.S. Marshals (USMS) COVOTF and both cases were elevated to a “Major Case” status within the USMS. 

Over the course of the following months, COVOTF Deputy U.S. Marshals and Task Force Officers from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation conducted an aggressive investigation for both the missing children as well as Ballard.

An endangered missing alert issued by CBI alerted the public to information and photos of the children, Ballard, and details about the vehicle they may be traveling in. Investigators uncovered connections and travel spanning five different states across the western U.S. The COVOTF investigative team authored over 12 search warrants, conducted numerous interviews, spent countless hours on physical surveillance, and researched through hundreds of pages of data and records obtained. Eventually, those efforts paid off in a lead indicating Ballard was about to return home to Hotchkiss along with the children. 

On Wednesday, a multi-agency team was assembled including law enforcement officers from the U.S. Marshals Service in Grand Junction, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Hotchkiss Police Department, United States Postal Inspectors, Homeland Security Investigations, Montrose County Sheriff’s Office, Montrose Police Department, and the Colorado State Patrol. 

The team set up surveillance on the Willow Heights residence in Hotchkiss and was able to make contact with Danielle Ballard, daughter of Jacqueline and aunt to Demi and King. Soon after, members of the joint law enforcement team made entry into the residence as the safety of the children was of the utmost priority. Ballard was located inside the home and taken into custody. The children were then located by the law enforcement team and immediately placed in the care of Child Protective Services workers who were also present.  

Both Jacqueline and Danielle Ballard were transported to and booked into the Delta County Jail. They are both being held $50,000 cash only bond.

In 2015 the Justice for Juvenile Victims of Trafficking Act was passed, granting USMS the authority to assist in missing child cases. To manage these missing child cases, the U.S. Marshals Service formed the Missing Child Unit (MCU). The mission of the MCU is to develop, implement and oversee a comprehensive nationwide missing child investigative program, utilizing all available USMS investigative resources and disciplines in coordination with NCMEC.  The MCU provides program development, review, and refinement with the ultimate goal of assisting federal, state and local partners to recover as many missing children as possible in the interest of public safety.

Agencies involved in the operation included: 

• U.S. Marshals Service District of Colorado’s Violent Offender Task Force
• Colorado Bureau of Investigation – Grand Junction Office
• Hotchkiss Police Department
• Homeland Security Investigations
• United States Postal Inspector – Grand Junction Office
• Montrose County Sheriff’s Office
• Montrose Police Department
• Colorado State Patrol
• Delta Police Department
• Grand Junction Police Department
• Boulder Police Department
• U.S. Marshals Service’s Missing Child Unit 
• U.S. Marshals Service’s Districts of Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada

The Colorado Violent Offender Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional fugitive task force that targets the most violent offenders to include those wanted for murder, assault, sex offenses, and other serious offenses throughout the state and country. 

Nationally, the U.S. Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive task forces, eight regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.  Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @USMSDenver.

Source: US Marshals Service

Wausau, WI – On January 12, 2024, the United States Marshals Service captured a fugitive in a hotel parking lot in Houston.

Peter Jewell-Reigel, 25, was wanted on a warrant out of Marathon County, Wisconsin on a supervised release violation following a 2017 conviction for 2nd degree sexual assault of a child.

In December 2023, Jewell-Reigel was alleged to have engaged in unapproved and unsupervised contact with a 13-year-old female.

On December 13, 2023, Jewell-Reigel was set to meet with his probation officer about the allegations, when during transport to the office, Jewell-Reigel removed his GPS tracking device and jumped out of the moving vehicle that was operated by his parents.

On January 3, 2024, a lead was sent from the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force in Madison, WI to the U.S. Marshals Task Force in the Southern District of Texas – Houston after information was developed that Jewell-Reigel had been in the Houston area since December 15, 2023.

On January 11, 2024, around 1pm, Jewell-Reigel was discovered to be sleeping in a car in a Houston hotel parking lot. The U.S. Marshals Task force made contact with Jewell-Reigel who had a knife, leading to standoff lasting several hours.

With the help of negotiators, Jewell-Reigel was taken into custody around 2am on January 12.

In addition to the 2017 second degree sexual assault of a child, Jewell Reigel has previous convictions for disorderly conduct and battery.

The United States Marshals Service is the federal government’s primary agency for fugitive investigations.

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 USMS Tips.