Crackdown In Cherokee County

Saturday, March 31st 2007, 10:16 pm

By: News On 6

Highway Patrol Troopers and U.S. Marshals have teamed up in Cherokee County in hopes of catching a lot of criminals. The OHP says this is its largest crackdown in Cherokee County in years. There are 13,000 outstanding warrants in the county, and troopers say there's a need to send a message before summer gets underway. The News On 6's Chris Wright reports more than 50 troopers gathered at the Cherokee County Detention Center before fanning out across the area.

In addition to the extra manpower, the OHP also brought in its chopper, and members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force were on hand to help. Some troopers were in charge of tracking down residents with outstanding warrants, others set up license checkpoints in an effort to snare drunk drivers.

The OHP says the operation is part of a two-prong approach meant to show Cherokee County residents they are serious about enforcing the law.

"What we're attempting to do is show the public we are here. We are serious about reducing our collisions and eliminating drunk drivers in order to protect lives in Cherokee County," said OHP Captain Bill James.

OHP conducted a similar exercise in Sequoyah County Friday night that it described as very successful

The night is far from over for the troopers. They say they will be out making arrests until five or six Sunday morning.