U.S. Marshals arrested 117 fugitives wanted for violent crimes in nine Massachusetts cities during a two-month, targeted operation this spring, the U.S. Marshals Service announced Monday.
Over the course of 45 days between March 31 and May 30, the service’s Fugitive Task Force arrested suspects accused of crimes such as homicide, sex offenses, felonious assault and felonious drug and gun possession as part of “Operation Spring Cleaning,” the Marshals Service said in a press release.
The operation was focused on apprehending fugitives in Brockton, Holyoke, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Springfield and Worcester, the Marshals Service said. These cities were selected based on a U.S. Department of Justice initiative that identified them as “high crime areas.”
One goal of Operation Spring Cleaning was to target suspects with ties to drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations, the Marshals Service said. One of the fugitives who was arrested was an MS-13 gang member who was wanted out of Worcester Superior Court on charges of murder and carrying a loaded firearm without a license.
The fugitive was arrested on May 30 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, after evading authorities for nearly a year, the Marshals Service said. He was not identified by name in the press release.
