Diane Humetewa, U.S. attorney for Arizona, discusses the June arrests of 312 fugitives by a task force of state and local police.

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Authorities round up 312 fugitives in Arizona

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PHOENIX — Federal, state and local law enforcement took more than 300 fugitives, ranging from homicide suspects to sex offenders, off Arizona streets in the last week of June, .

David Gonzales, the U.S. marshal for Arizona, said the program, dubbed FALCON, for Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally, is designed to combine the resources and skills of agencies throughout the state to catch criminals living in Arizona communities who assume they won't be found.

Among those captured:

● Michael Neeley, a convicted child molester who had not registered as a sex offender, found living in a Tucson mobile home with a parole violator, two adult females and a 14-month-old girl.

● Elbert Shabie, a convicted double-murderer, arrested on the Navajo Reservation for violating the conditions of his parole following his release from prison after 28 years.

● Jose Libni de la Vara-Lopez, wanted for two years in Mexico on charges of murder, found in Tucson and turned over to Mexican authorities.

● Juan F. Miranda, a bank robber and gang member, found at a motel in Tucson and charged with using drugs while on release from prison.

"We take seriously the pursuit and capture of those who hide from justice," Gonzales said.

He said the 312 fugitives captured included 177 from Maricopa County and 107 from the Tucson area. But Gonzales said as successful as the operation was, it only made a small dent in the problem. He said there were another 40,000 outstanding warrants in Maricopa County and about 4,000 in Pima County.

Gonzales said it isn't just a question of catching people who might simply be in violation of parole.

"A fugitive from justice is involved with burglaries, ID theft, drug trafficking and other crimes to survive," he said. And he said fugitives are "an extreme danger to the police and citizens when they feel they have nothing to lose."

The way the system works, Gonzales said, is several inter-agency squads are formed, each with a specific geographic area. They are given a batch of warrants and information about where the person named might be found, and a list of relatives and associates.

"The group leader will take that squad out for the week," he explained. Gonzales said if the team manages to arrest everyone on the list, or if some leads become dead ends, then the squad members get new warrants assigned to them.

Elizabeth Kempshall, the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency in Arizona, said the cooperation among various agencies is important.

"It sends a message to the bad guys, to the fugitives, that this is not a place for them to be able to hide," she said. "We will take action and we will look for you."

Tempe Police Chief Tom Ryff said the operation was the kind of thing police should be doing.

"They're going after, with pinpoint accuracy, individuals that we're trying to take off the street," he said.