The Justice Department announced that the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) arrested 3,421 violent fugitives during Operation North Star FY 2024 (ONS FY24). The arrests included 216 for homicide, 803 for assault, and 482 for weapons offenses.
ONS FY24 spanned 74 operational days from May 10 to September 13. It targeted fugitives and violent offenders in ten metropolitan areas, focusing on those who used firearms or posed high risk factors for violence. During the operation, investigators seized 534 firearms, over $508,000 in currency, and 456 kilograms of illegal narcotics, including fentanyl.
The selected metropolitan areas were Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas; Charleston and North Charleston in South Carolina; Baton Rouge in Louisiana; Little Rock in Arkansas; Phoenix; St. Louis including East St. Louis in Illinois; Birmingham in Alabama; Winston-Salem in North Carolina; Dayton in Ohio; and San Antonio.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated: “We first launched Operation North Star in 2022 to identify and apprehend the most dangerous fugitives and violent offenders. From May to September of this year, the U.S. Marshals Service worked with state and local law enforcement partners in ten metropolitan areas to arrest more than 3,400 fugitives and violent offenders and seize large quantities of firearms and fentanyl.”
USMS Director Ronald L. Davis added: “Over the past year, the Marshals Service conducted Operation North Star in ten cities across the country experiencing high levels of gun violence. Over 3,000 dangerous fugitives, including over 200 homicide suspects, were apprehended and removed from neighborhoods.”
Since July 2022, USMS Operation North Star initiatives have led to the apprehension of over 10,200 wanted fugitives across thirty locations.
Significant arrests include Aaron Michael Jones on May 20 in Baton Rouge for home invasion among other charges; Hayden Bates-Vellmure, Jordan Elijah Jackson, Allan Gilbert, and Patrick Biscoe on May 22 in Fort Worth related to a drive-by shooting; Garron Stevenson on May 21 in St. Louis for first-degree murder at a street racing event; Michael Muldovan on August 15 in Sterling for statutory rape charges.
For more information on ONS FY24 visit USMarshals.gov.