Operation FALCON Nets 242 East TN Fugitives

Ronald Gibbs, Acting U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Tennessee, announces the successful conclusion of Operation FALCON 2009 with the arrest of 242 fugitive felons by FALCON Teams based in east Tennessee.

Of the 242 arrests in East Tennessee each division had several of special interest. In Chattanooga the cases of Christopher Todd Suttles, James Winnie especially stand out.

Suttles is a 27-year-old man with a long criminal record, who had not only been wanted by both the U.S. Marshals Service for a federal probation violation, but was on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation "Top 10 Most Wanted List" based on his alleged stabbing of a witness near Chattanooga in January. After a half a year as a fugitive, FALCON Teams based in Chattanooga and Knoxville were able to locate and safely arrest this violent offender in Alcoa on June 15.

Winnie was wanted by the Hamilton County Sheriffs Department for a number of charges which included Assault, Credit Card Fraud, Burglary of vehicles. Manufacturing of Methamphetamine, Probation Violations, which totaled over 15 outstanding warrants. On 6/16/2009 U.S. Marshals Deputies along with Officers of the Chattanooga Police Department, Deputies from Hamilton and Marion Counties arrested Winnie's girlfriend Jessica Airks in Marion County. The vehicle Airks was driving was full of stolen items from recent vehicle burglaries. Later that day Winnie was spotted and when Marion County Deputies attempted to stop him Winnie fled and a vehicle chase ensued. Winnie reached speeds in excess of 110 MPH and traveled into Hamilton County. Winnie lost control of his vehicle and fled on foot. Winnie was captured a short time later with assistance from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Valley Authority Police, Chattanooga Police, Marion County, Hamilton County, and United States Marshals Service. Components of a Meth lab were recovered from Winnie's vehicle.

The 242 arrests in East Tennessee included 11 fugitive sex offenders, six fugitives wanted for homicide, six fugitives accused of financial fraud, and more than 150 fugitives on various other violent crimes.

U.S. Marshal Gibbs said, "Without the help of our local partners a number of these cases might still be open today. The contribution they provided by working side by side with the Deputy U.S. Marshals of the Eastern District of Tennessee was the key to the success of Operation FALCON here in Tennessee."

FALCON, which stands for Federal And Local Cops Organized Nationally, is dependant on the shared resources of the U.S. Marshals Service, other federal law enforcement agencies, and our local partners. With each agency having very limited resources in East Tennessee Operation FALCON depended on this partnership to be successful as the shared resources safely, and successfully closed many cases that had been open for very long periods.

In East Tennessee Operation FALCON Teams representing 24 different law enforcement agencies were based in Chattanooga, Greeneville, and Knoxville. The law enforcement agencies in the district that participated in these Teams were:

• Bristol Police Department - City
  
• Chattanooga Police Department - City
  
• Knoxville Police Department - City
  
• Morristown Police Department - City
  
• Blount County Sheriff's Office - County
  
• Bradley County Sheriff's Office - County
  
• Carter County Sheriff's Office - County
  
• Cocke County Sheriff's Office - County
  
• Hamblen County Sheriff's Office - County
  
• Hamilton County Sheriff's Office - County
  
• Knox County Sheriff's Office - County
  
• Marion County Sheriff's Office - County
  
• Unicoi County Sheriff's Office - County
  
• Union County Sheriff's Office - County
  
• Washington County Sheriff's Office - County
  
• Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) - State
  
• Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) - State
  
• 9th District Attorney General's Office - State
  
• 10th District Drug Task Force - State
  
• 14th District Drug Task Force - State
  
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) - Federal
  
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - Federal
  
• Social Security-Office of Inspector General - Federal

Operation FALCON Teams across the country arrested 35,190 fugitives. Since the U.S. Marshals Service began Operation FALCON in 2005, FALCON Teams have made 91,086 arrests and cleared 117,874 warrants.