Marshal’s Office operation nets more than 30 arrests in northern Iowa

A six-week operation by the U.S. Marshal's Office led to more than 30 arrests of violent offenders and fugitives in northern Iowa.

On Thursday, the Marshal's Office announced the culmination of Operation Violence Reduction7. The six-week long nationwide initiative resulted in more than 7,100 arrests.

Deputy Nicholas Bonifazi, public information officer for the Cedar Rapids Marshal's office, said the operation was unique for its focus on violent offenders, rather than just a sweep for individuals wanted on warrants.

'This was targeted specifically to a criteria of violent offenders,” Bonifazi said Thursday. 'We specifically targeted sexual assault, anything homicide-related.”

According to the Marshal's Office, the operation focused on fugitives wanted for violent crimes such as murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, abduction/kidnapping and sexual assault, as well as child molestation. An additional emphasis was placed on gang members, sex offenders and those with three or more prior felony arrests for violent crimes who were wanted for narcotics, weapons offenses and assault offenses.

Locally, the operation concentrated on Linn, Dubuque, Buchanan, Woodbury and Wright counties. The Northern Iowa Fugitive Taskforce seized more than 150 grams of narcotics and more than $3,000 in drug trafficking proceeds, according to the Marshal's Office.

Nationwide, the operation resulted in 7,127 arrests. Charges include 519 for homicide, 922 for weapons, 1,888 for assault, 583 for sexual assault, 1,093 for robbery and 2,654 for narcotics. Authorities also recovered 10 missing children during the operation.

Those arrested in Linn County include:

- David Tisdale, 29, for sexual assault.

- Lester Ealy, 51, for a sex offense.

- Anthony Lesain, 22, for a firearms offense.

- Michael Mcintosh, 52, for a narcotics offense.

- Donell Hopkins, 34, for a narcotics offense.

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