Community Voices: Fugitive Unit apprehends ‘baddest of the bad’
Editor’s note: The name of the suspect wasn’t included because details about his arrest weren’t available. The child wasn’t named because minors aren’t generally named in conjunction with crimes.
The 3-year-old asked, “Is my daddy going to jail?”
Skinny, shirtless and bare-footed, the boy was staring out the car window as his handcuffed father was led to the patrol car. The chatty little boy found himself seated on the console next to me while about 10 Gwinnett County deputy sheriffs worked the scene.
I was on a ride-along with Gwinnett’s Fugitive Unit. I sat safely wearing a bulletproof vest in one of about five undercover vehicles that had moments before surrounded the house. Jackson was waiting with me while officers located his mother.
Sheriff Butch Conway reinstated the county’s Fugitive Unit as part of the Field Operations Division in 1997 to apprehend the most dangerous and elusive criminals.
Four deputies make up the Fugitive Unit under the supervision of Col. Carl Sims. Each day they receive a new batch of arrest warrants. “These are the most dangerous and violent criminals in our county. These are the worst of the worst, the baddest of the bad,” said Sims.
The Fugitive Unit is chasing individuals who usually know they are wanted and have no desire to be incarcerated. “Fugitives know the vehicles that come and go around them,” said Lt. Marc LaBoy, deputy in charge of the team.
These police vehicles are not equipped with cameras.
Investigators had been looking for this fugitive for about three weeks. They had been watching the area and knew there might be a child at the location. They knew there was at least one .22 long rifle with a scope. They described the group as “all methheads.”
We approached the area around 10:30 a.m. The officers were spread out in different locations watching the house and surrounding neighborhood. They watched patiently for four hours. They knew the streets, where doors and windows were located and which way someone might run to escape.
“It’s important to have an element of surprise,” LaBoy said.
This wasn’t like what you see on TV. There was no shouting, no obvious adrenaline-fueled confusion. The process was calm, professional and respectful.
I asked about racial tensions. The Fugitive Unit is a mix of black, white and Hispanic. There is an obvious brotherhood among them. Yet they do encounter racial tension depending on the suspects.
Their biggest challenge is lack of resources. With 35 to 40 new arrest warrants each month, they have to prioritize. Murder suspects take precedence. Sometimes a lead on a pending warrant bumps it ahead of what might seem a more dangerous charge.
As we drove away, I asked about what will happen to the child. I can’t say anyone was terribly optimistic about the little guy’s future.
