HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. (AP) - Authorities said they have arrested 44 people in eastern Arkansas on criminal charges in a coordinated operation to “bring back law and order” following a recent epidemic of violence including murder and rape.
Investigators said Operation “Press Your Luck” was led by the U.S. Marshals Service and targeted fugitive gang members and other violent criminals in the Delta region.
The local and federal law enforcement agencies started the roundup early Tuesday in the Helena-West Helena area after arrest warrants were issued for 63 suspects, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. The warrants were for charges including murder, rape, kidnapping, aggravated assault and other crimes.
The operation came in response to an “acute crisis as it relates to violent crime” in the area, said Cody Hiland, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Hiland said the goal of the ongoing investigation is to provide communities in the Delta region immediate relief from such violence.
“Helena has seen some violent crime in the last few months,” said Hiland, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. “They are well on their way to turning this around.”
Hiland said Helena-West Helena Mayor Kevin Smith visited his office about a month ago and requested assistance. Their conversation was part of the incentive for the operation, he said.
More than 100 officers and leaders from the U.S. Marshals; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration; and the Arkansas State Police participated in the roundup, according to Hiland.
“We’re trying to bring back law and order to our city and county,” said James Patrick Smith, Helena-West Helena police chief. “I think something like this will have a great impact on the area. It lets people know that law enforcement is committed to fixing the problems here.”
Kevin Sanders, U.S. Marshals Supervisory Deputy, said the agencies spent a month planning the operation.
“We were able to identify with the (Helena-West Helena) chief of police the people on the list,” Sanders said. “Something like this, where you have multiple teams from multiple agencies, is a logistic nightmare, but we already had the template because of (Operation) Delta Blues so we were pretty comfortable out there.”
Operation Delta Blues was an FBI-led drug-trafficking investigation conducted in 2011, mostly in Marianna and Helena-West Helena. Around 800 law enforcement officers rounded up more than 71 suspects named in eight indictments.
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com
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