CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A month-long collaborative operation between West Virginia and federal law enforcement has brought many alleged fugitives to justice, including many sex offenders.
Operation Spring Sweep, launched by the U.S. Marshals Southern District of West Virginia Cops United Felony Fugitive Enforcement Division (CUFFED) Task Force in collaboration with the West Virginia State Police, began March 9 and officially ended April 4.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Moore Capito, the U.S. Marshal Service, state police, and other law enforcement gathered Wednesday morning in front of the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse in Charleston to announce the operation results.
Mark Waggamon, Deputy U.S. Marshal with the Southern District of West Virginia, said this work puts offenders on notice.
“This is what a coordinated law enforcement operation looks like, and it sends a clear message,” Waggamon said. “If you’re a fugitive or a non-compliant sex offender, we are coming for you.”
Authorities said state police performed 222 sex offender compliance checks. 19 of those offenders were arrested for noncompliance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
The operation led to 72 felony arrests. Law enforcement officers also seized illegal substances, firearms, and drug trafficking money.
Two missing children were found during the sweep.
“This operation was a focused enforcement effort,” Waggamon described. “Targeting noncompliant sex offenders, fugitive sex offenders, individuals wanted for sex crimes, and violent fugitives across the Southern District of West Virginia.”
Capito praised the work of the agencies in protecting the state’s future.
“Everybody standing behind us today is a subset of the group that committed themselves over the past month to ridding our streets of some of the most dangerous and worst of the worst people that we have here in West Virginia,” Capito said. “With one particular goal in mind: to protect the most vulnerable people here in West Virginia, in particular, our children.”
Kanawha County prosecuting attorney Debra Rusnak said she is grateful for the positive impacts this operation had.
“I am so proud to stand among these people behind me today,” Rusnak said. “When community leaders and our law enforcement partners come together, we get results. We get a safer West Virginia. We get drugs off the streets, we get bad guys behind bars, and we have done a job that has absolutely protected the most vulnerable, and probably the most important, people in our state.”
Waggamon said this operation is an example of how seriously West Virginia government takes protection of minors.
“Today, we get to talk about how West Virginia is leading the way and protecting our children and leading the way in protecting the most vulnerable among us,” Waggamon said. “I can’t think of anything more important to focus on if we look at the future and want to grow a West Virginia the way that I know each one of us want to, than to protect the very future to ensure that our children can thrive.”
Capito mentioned that he attended the Handle with Care event at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center Wednesday morning. The Handle with Care initiative helps alert schools about children dealing with trauma and exposure to violence. The initiative is aimed at supporting those children’s education.
Capito said that Operation Spring Sweep is how law enforcement officers can help decrease the number of children impacted by violence and abuse. With sex offenders off the street, West Virginia’s youth will be safer, he reasoned.
Waggamon lauded this operation for providing justice for victims of sexual abuse and their families.
“The first thing I think about is the victims, and then I think about their mother and father,” Waggamon said. “I know if I was a dad, I would want to do something about it. So I think that every arrest that we make, it’s for the victims and it’s for the families, because they’re on the sidelines, they’re not able to do anything about it, but in their absence, we’re able to do something about it.”
Child Protective Services assisted in locating the two abducted children, Waggamon said.
Waggamon also announced that law enforcement confiscated around 50 pounds of marijuana, 114.36 grams of methamphetamine, and 488.29 grams of fentanyl.
28 agencies were involved in the operation, from local West Virginia police departments to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“These types of operations are only successful when federal, state, and local partners partner up and work together,” Waggamon said. “The cooperation of these operations make West Virginia safer as these predators and violent offenders are removed from our communities.”