Crime-fighting scorecard shows 201 suspects down, 1,000 more to go

The moment was almost funny.

Local law enforcement leaders from throughout the justice system crowded the stage to capacity Tuesday morning at the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse to celebrate the success in Southern Nevada of the U.S. Marshals Service Operation FALCON IV.

I mean they really crowded it. In all, 22 people representing almost as many agencies met the press. By my estimate, the stage would have held no more than two more persons before collapsing in a heap.

At first glance it had the earmarks of a traditional government dog-and-pony show with more officials than reporters and speakers extolling the virtues of the group's collective effort against the criminal element. You know how those things go. The word goes out to the media about an important press conference, and if it's a slow news day, a handful of reporters and television cameras converge to watch some self-congratulatory speeches.

It's like watching a vaudeville show for shy people, and on the surface it's rarely all that compelling.

In this case, the news note is reduced to this: Over a recent five-day period, a team of local, state, and federal law enforcement arrested 201 people on a variety of felony charges, including 27 documented gang members and 17 sex offenders. Some methamphetamine was seized, along with 11 guns and a few thousand dollars in cash. Team FALCON (Federal And Local Cops Organized Nationally) cleared 345 warrants.

In all, it was a good week for law enforcement and for law-abiding Southern Nevadans. But like one of those vaudeville skits, there's good news and there's bad news.

The good news is, some scary thugs got locked up.

What's the bad news?

It won't last. Unfortunately, it's unlikely to be repeated with effective regularity.

Do the math: The law enforcement sweep started with approximately 1,300 warrants, collared 201 bad guys, and resolved 345 warrants.

That leaves 955 warrants for suspected felons thought to be floating around in our community, and that qualifies as bad news.

The FALCON arrangement was made possible locally because there were sufficient federal funds set aside to operate a 50-person law enforcement unit for five days. As the U.S. Marshals Service nears the end of its fiscal year, it will compete with other federal law enforcement agencies for scarce dollars in a post-9/11 society that finds anti-terrorism offices receiving top priority.

The felony suspects were an eclectic bunch. There was Raul Avitia Jacques, a fugitive from Mexico who is wanted on charges he murdered his mother-in-law by shooting her in the chest with a .380 pistol. He was living in Las Vegas under the alias Armando Acosta.

And there was Curtis Mark Gebers Jr. of Henderson, who was wanted on an attempted homicide warrant and has an arrest record that reads like the Nevada Revised Statutes.

There were local sex offenders and out-of-town gang-bangers, including Fresno, Calif., thug Jarmaine Charles Dobbs, who is accused of kidnapping and participating in the vicious beating of a woman that left her near death.

Add to that the eerie arrest of Jose Sarastoga on possession of illegal drugs. Sarastoga was found in possession of illegal firearms, an FBI Raid jacket and other items that would lead a cynic to believe he was interested in impersonating a law enforcement officer.

By the time Operation FALCON IV ended on Aug. 24, the marshals office went back to using its six-person fugitive detail. They're experienced professionals, but the team would basically fit comfortably in an SUV.

"Undoubtedly, the communities we serve are a little safer than they were a few days ago," U.S. Marshal Gary Orton said.

But Orton is a realist. Such sweeps can be important and effective, but they're also costly and time-consuming. Budgets stretch only so far.

It takes planning and coordination to cull the worst offenders from the thousands of outstanding warrants. And it takes real investigative work to run down fresh leads.

"We do the best we can with what we have available," Orton said, adding that his office is always looking for fresh leads on fugitives preying in Southern Nevada's shadows.

There were some certified sickos among the 201, and that's a little scary.

But it's not half as alarming as the knowledge that there are nearly 1,000 more still on the street.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0295.