Operation FALCON makes 380 arrests

From Staff Reports

Federal and local law enforcement officials netted 380 arrests, including 26 sex offenders, and cleared 688 warrants within the Eastern District of Tennessee during an initiative conducted last week.

This year's Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally) followed four years of previous successes, according to a news release from the U.S. Marshals Service.

Operation FALCON in Greeneville combined the collective efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Blount County Sheriff's Office, in one of the area's largest-ever fugitive initiatives.

Officers focused on capturing individuals wanted on felony charges, including sexual predators, and fugitives wanted for crimes of violence. Over the course of the seven-day operation June 22-28, deputy U.S. marshals, teamed with federal, state and local law enforcement partners, arrested 157 fugitives in the Knoxville area.

One of those arrested, Dale Overturf, was a fugitive wanted by the Sequatchie County Sheriff's Department since January 2008 on a charge of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. Overturf is alleged to have taken sexually explicit photographs of a minor and posted them on the Internet. FALCON teams working from Chattanooga found that Overturf might be hiding in the Knoxville area and referred the case to a Knoxville FALCON Team on June 23. Officers arrested Overturf a day later at a Knoxville residence.

Operation FALCON in Knoxville consisted of about 50 federal, state and local law enforcement officers -- including a member of the Blount County Sheriff's Office -- which made up four separate arrest teams that worked throughout the seven-day period. Each participating local officer was sworn in as a special deputy U.S. marshal immediately prior to the start of this operation. The authority empowered the officers to cross traditional lines of jurisdiction to track down and arrest targeted fugitives throughout the week.

"My main goal is that all law enforcement agencies in Eastern Tennessee realize that mutual cooperation is the key to success everyday," said U.S. Marshal Jeff Hedden. "The ongoing partnerships built by Operation FALCON are key factors to that success."

Since its inception in 2005, Operation FALCON has made more than 40,000 arrests and cleared over 50,000 warrants. It continues to be the largest and most successful fugitive apprehension effort in U.S. Marshals history.