U.S. Marshals Crescent Star Fugitive Task Force Apprehends New Orleans Metro Area Crime Stoppers Most Wanted, Phillip Helton

On the afternoon of July 18, 2007, the U.S. Marshals Service Eastern District of Louisiana Crescent Star Fugitive Task Force (CSFTF), with assistance from the New Orleans Police Department Violent Offenders Warrant Squad (NOPD VOWS), Louisiana Probation and Parole, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, arrested one of the New Orleans metro area’s most wanted fugitives, Phillip J. Helton (AKA: Lee Wilson), 27 years old, at a residence in the 1800 block of Esther St. Harvey, LA. Helton was wanted on a warrant out of Orleans Parish for aggravated kidnapping and first degree murder. He was also wanted by Louisiana Probation and Parole for a parole violation on an original conviction of possession of cocaine and simple burglary.

The Orleans Parish warrant is related to the shooting of a fifteen year old male who was found on Sunday, June 18, 2006, in the 4300 block of Sullen Place New Orleans, LA suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck. The victim later died as a result of the wound. Investigators with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) developed Helton as the suspect in the murder. The NOPD is a member of CSFTF and the case was referred to the task force for assistance in locating him. He was profiled multiple times in the local media on the Crime Stoppers segment and he was also one of the fugitives profiled on the Crime Stoppers billboards across the metro area.

Investigators from CSFTF developed information that Helton was also arrested in May of 2007, in Harris County, Texas on a controlled dangerous substances charge. He used the alias of Lee Wilson to post a bond and it is believed that local associates of Helton were involved in his posting bond even though he had been wanted for almost a year.

As CSFTF attempted entry of the residence in the 1800 block of Esther St. Helton attempted to close the door. Agents/Officers had to force entry through the door where Helton was then arrested without incident.

The U.S. Marshals Service EDLA sponsored CSFTF has been in existence since 1999 and relies on the support of its member agencies to arrest fugitives wanted on felony warrants across the thirteen parish area that it serves. The task force’s focus is on violent and sexual offenders. Current members of CSFTF include: New Orleans Police Department, Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office, St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana Probation and Parole, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, Bogalusa Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Services, Social Security Administration OIG, and U.S. Border Patrol. CSFTF has also been supplemented post Hurricane Katrina by additional U.S. Marshals resources at the request of the U.S. Attorney General.