Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force Make Four Murder Arrests In One Day

To catch one suspected murderer is a home run--to catch four within 24 hours of each other, as they did Tuesday, is epic.

Wednesday, September 12th 2012, 6:53 pm

By: News On 6

Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force Make Four Murder Arrests In One Day

The Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force is made up of US Marshals and police officers from a number of different agencies.

Their mission is to track down and capture the worst criminals out there.

To catch one suspected murderer is a home run--to catch four within 24 hours of each other, as they did Tuesday, is epic.

The members of the task force are quick to give credit to everybody else: homicide detectives, gang officers, patrol officers and other agencies, but, no matter how you look at it, this team is routinely hitting it out of the park.

The fugitive squad and task force members aren't exactly a secret unit, but they do fly under the radar.

That's how they're able to catch so many bad guys, so quickly.

They knock on doors, talk to people, drive all over creation and stay at it for hours, even days without a break, sacrificing a great deal of family time to catch individuals accused of violent and heinous crimes.

"It's the most exciting thing, in the way of challenging, to go after—to try to find somebody who's not trying to be found," said TPD Sergeant Luke Sherman.

TPD's Fugitive Warrants squad has been increased to nine members and the task force has about 20 people on it from different agencies.

Having the power and resources of the US Marshals Service certainly helps.

When a big crime happens, like the Good Friday shootings or a string of robberies, these guys are sent to track down those responsible and do it fast.

"There's not a clear cut path on how you catch a guy," said US Marshal Chad Hunt. "Each case, each person we look for is unique. Their personality, trails who they're involved with, dictates how they act. There's no book on how to catch a bad guy, for sure."

Even though it's their job and they give credit to lots of other people for the team effort, the guys admit after working nearly two days straight without sleep, none of them could sleep, for thinking about the accomplishment of catching four murder suspects in one day.

"They're not doing it because they want to see their name on the news or their face on the news," said TPD Corporal Matt Hart. "They're doing it, because they're taking violent people off the streets, and it's cliché and cheesy, but it's legitimate, that people do not understand there are violent criminals in this city, this district, and there has to be someone to go after them."

Summing up yesterday's work by the task force is sort of like that old credit card commercial.

Hours of prep work on the case: 24; hours of actual operation: 17; murder weapons recovered: one; catching four murder suspects in one day: Priceless.