ST. GEORGE – The U.S. Marshals Service announced that its Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, or VFAST, arrested 103 fugitives across Utah last month.
The operation involved deputy U.S. Marshals working with state and local police agencies as they focused on catching the “most violent criminals who had evaded justice,” according to a statement issued Thursday.
The task force captured fugitives throughout the month that were spread from the Idaho border to Mesquite, Nevada. The last fugitive was arrested shortly before midnight on May 31, the statement reads.
Among those arrested was Bradley James Moore, 32, of Vernal. He is alleged to have gang ties and was a fugitive from parole who was wanted on attempted murder charges on the Fort Duchesne Indian reservation. He was captured May 14.
Read more: U.S. Marshals nab man wanted in Fort Duchesne shooting incident
Javier Cabrera, 25, of Murray, was wanted on a felony count of forcible sex abuse out of Salt Lake City. He was found in Mesquite. U.S. Marshals and task force officers tracked him moving south and eventually caught up to him in remote neighborhood outside the town. Cabrera’s capture was reported May 16.
“Special thanks to Mesquite PD for their help” in the Cabrera arrest, the U.S. Marshals VFAST unit posted on Twitter.
Javier Cabrera wanted on a Forcible Sex Abuse charge out of Salt Lake was tracked down in Mesquite Nevada by VFAST. US Marshals/TFO’s tracked him moving south and eventually caught up to him in remote neighborhood outside of town. Special thanks to Mesquite PD for their help. pic.twitter.com/ErHyCDo39T
— VFAST_USMS (@VFAST_USMS) May 16, 2018
Another arrest involved Gilberto Ruiz, 22, of Ogden. Ruiz’s arrest was connected to a gang-related murder warrant. The task force found him in a small house of the east side of the city.
“After conducting call-outs and breaching the door, he eventually surrendered and was taken into custody,” the marshals stated over Twitter. Ruiz’s arrest was reported May 30.
Utah police agencies that worked with the U.S. Marshals in capturing fugitives include the West Valley City, West Jordan, Sandy, Unified Police Departments and Adult Probation and Parole.
“The success of this operation is a result of the dedication and collaboration of our local, state and federal partners,” U.S. Marshal Matthew Harris said. “VFAST will continue working together to fulfill our mission and ultimately make communities throughout Utah safer and more secure.”
VFAST is a US Marshals-led fugitive task force comprised of federal, state and local officers from the District of Utah. The team focuses on apprehending fugitives wanted for violent crimes.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MoriKessler
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.
That’s terrific news. But without a wall they will just keep coming. And with a society that glorifies violence on the Movie screen, there’s not much hope for real social change. Change will only happen at the individual level, so everyone make the personal decision to stop supporting violence from Hollywood and make the personal decision to keep the sabbath day holy by attending church somewhere, anywhere. We are all interdependent on each others decisions and actions to some extent.
Nice to know our laws are being enforced! Keep up the good work!
Great job US Marshals and local/state law enforcement . Made my day. Keep up the fine work. Let’s hope the justice system does their job now.
Always happy to see justice served great work!
This is a great start….keep up the good work