posted July 9, 2009
Operation FALCON 2009 resulted in the arrest of 242 fugitive felons by FALCON Teams based in East Tennessee, including Christopher Todd Suttles and James Winnie in Hamilton County, officials said.
Operation FALCON Teams across the country arrested 35,190 fugitives. Since the U.S. Marshals Service began Operation FALCON in 2005, FALCON Teams have made 91,086 arrests and cleared 117,874 warrants.
The 242 arrests in East Tennessee included 11 fugitive sex offenders, six fugitives wanted for homicide, six fugitives accused of financial fraud, and more than 150 fugitives on various other violent crimes.
U.S. Marshal Ronald Gibbs said, “Without the help of our local partners a number of these cases might still be open today. The contribution they provided by working side by side with the Deputy U.S. Marshals of the Eastern District of Tennessee was the key to the success of Operation FALCON here in Tennessee.”
FALCON, which stands for Federal And Local Cops Organized Nationally, is dependent on the shared resources of the U.S. Marshals Service, other federal law enforcement agencies, and our local partners. With each agency having very limited resources in East Tennessee Operation FALCON depended on this partnership to be successful as the shared resources safely, and successfully closed many cases that had been open for very long periods, it was stated.
In East Tennessee, Operation FALCON Teams representing 24 different law enforcement agencies were based in Chattanooga, Greeneville and Knoxville. The law enforcement agencies in the district that participated in these teams were:
Bristol Police Department – City
Chattanooga Police Department – City
Knoxville Police Department – City
Morristown Police Department – City
Blount County Sheriff’s Office – County
Bradley County Sheriff’s Office – County
Carter County Sheriff’s Office – County
Cocke County Sheriff’s Office - County
Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office – County
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office – County
Knox County Sheriff’s Office – County
Marion County Sheriff’s Office – County
Unicoi County Sheriff’s Office – County
Union County Sheriff’s Office – County
Washington County Sheriff’s Office – County
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) – State
Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) – State
9th District Attorney General’s Office – State
10th District Drug Task Force – State
14th District Drug Task Force – State
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) – Federal
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Federal
Social Security-Office of Inspector General – Federal
Of the 242 arrests in East Tennessee each division had several of special interest. In Chattanooga the cases of Christopher Todd Suttles and James Winnie especially stand out, officials said.
Suttles is a 27-year-old man with a long criminal record, who had not only been wanted by both the U.S. Marshals Service for a federal probation violation, but was on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation “Top 10 Most Wanted List” based on his alleged stabbing of a witness near Chattanooga in January.
After a half year as a fugitive, FALCON Teams based in Chattanooga and Knoxville were able to locate and safely arrest Suttles in Alcoa on June 15.
Winnie was wanted by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department for a number of charges which included assault, credit card fraud, burglary of vehicles. manufacturing of methamphetamine, probation Violations, which totaled over 15 outstanding warrants.
On June 16, U.S. Marshals deputies along with Officers of the Chattanooga Police Department, Deputies from Hamilton and Marion Counties arrested Winnie’s girlfriend, Jessica Airks, in Marion County. The vehicle Ms. Airks was driving was full of stolen items from recent vehicle burglaries, police said.
Later that day Winnie was spotted and, when Marion County Deputies attempted to stop him, Winnie fled and a vehicle chase ensued. Winnie reached speeds in excess of 110 mph and traveled into Hamilton County. Winnie lost control of his vehicle and fled on foot. Winnie was captured a short time later with assistance from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Valley Authority Police, Chattanooga Police, Marion County, Hamilton County, and United States Marshals Service. Components of a meth lab were recovered from Winnie’s vehicle.
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