Hundreds Of Green Country Criminals Arrested

Thanks to Operation Falcon, 350 of the worst criminals in Green Country are off the streets on Monday. Operation Falcon is a week-long effort led by the U.S. Marshals to track down and arrest people with warrants.

News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright rode again this year and reports, it's always an eye opener to go on these big warrants sweeps.

You never know what's going to happen; if a suspect will go willingly, fight, run or even shoot. Because of that, photojournalist Oscar Pea and Fullbright both wore bulletproof vests as a precaution. It's an important reminder just how dangerous law enforcement work is.

5:30 a.m. and dozens of local, state and federal officers are ready to hit the streets, in search of the area's worst criminals.

"This operation focuses on gang bangers, violent felons and sex offenders," said Chad Hunt, U.S. Marshal.

They temporarily cross deputize some of the local officers, to make arrests outside their jurisdiction.

Every situation must be planned for, because they have no idea what dangers the day will bring.

"Shots fired call. Make sure you get things locked down, good ballistic cover, no need to run into a gunfight," said Sgt. Chris Witt, with the Tulsa Police Department.

The 30 arrest teams fan out all over Green Country. They'll knock on hundreds of doors before it's all over.

Sometimes they have luck, other times, they don't, but, their persistence pays off. They found a guy hiding in a closet after his girlfriend lied and said he wasn't home and let them inside to search. They found a revolver nearby.

Word travels fast and one guy decides to just turn himself in rather than have the marshals and police track him down. But, not everyone is as easy to convince.

The arrest teams get the job done and after working round the clock for a week, get more than 300 wanted criminals out of our neighborhoods and into jail.

184 officers and agents worked Operation Falcon. In addition to the arrests, they seized 10 firearms and more than 100 grams of meth, cocaine and marijuana.