U.S. Marshals complete fugitive operation

CEDAR RAPIDS - A nationwide effort by the U.S. Marshals Office to capture violent offenders netted more than 50 arrests in the Northern District of Iowa.

The U.S. Marshals Office announced on Wednesday the completion of a six-week initiative called Operation Violence Reduction 12. The operation took place in all 94 federal judicial districts, with an emphasis on 12 priority cities around the country. The operation focused on fugitives with three or more felony arrests for violent crimes, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, kidnapping, weapons offenses, sexual assault, child molestation or narcotics.

'We applied a strategically focused approach to locate and apprehend the nation's most dangerous fugitives,” said Marshals Service Deputy Director David Harlow, according to a news release. 'By removing these violent offenders from the streets, the communities they preyed upon can immediately feel more secure.”

Among the more than 8,000 fugitive arrest nationwide were 648 gang members, 559 fugitives wanted for homicide and 946 wanted for sexual offenses. Authorities also seized 463 firearms, nearly $400,000 in currency and more than 71 kilograms of illegal drugs. Seventeen children who had been reported as abducted or missing were also recovered during the operation.

In the Northern District of Iowa, marshals arrested two fugitives wanted on homicide charges and six wanted for sexual abuse offenses. Among the notable arrests:

- Cordarryl Smith, 38, was wanted for attempted murder in connection with the September 2015 shooting of a 38-year-old Cedar Rapids man. He was arrested in Ottawa, Ill.

- Terrell King, 31, was arrested on March 8 in Cincinnati. He was wanted by the Cedar Rapids Police Department for three counts of sexual abuse.

- Jacob Petty, a member of the Gangster Disciples, was arrested in Sioux City after escaping from a residential treatment facility where he was on parole for a robbery conviction. Petty was armed during his arrest.