William R. Whittington
U.S. Marshal, Western District of Louisiana

FIFTH WOMAN EVER ON NATIONAL “15 MOST WANTED”
FUGITIVE LIST CAPTURED BY U.S. MARSHALS TASK FORCE
 

Dallas, Texas – One of the most violent women in America, Larvisa Morvette Cosby, 28, was captured Saturday night at 7:25 p.m. by the U.S. Marshals Dallas-Fort Worth Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (DFW FAST) at a motel in south Dallas. She was wanted on murder charges in Shreveport, Louisiana, and has a violent criminal record that includes several arrests for battery on a police officer, aggravated assault, resisting arrest, carrying concealed weapons and drug distribution.

Louisiana authorities had requested help from U.S. Marshal William Whittington in Shreveport, when they learned Cosby had fled the state. On June 28, the Marshals added her name to their famed “15 Most Wanted Fugitives” list. In 2003, witnesses reported that Cosby allegedly shot Julius Gipson in the head during a drive-by shooting in the Mooretown neighborhood of Shreveport. Gipson was later pronounced dead at an area hospital. “Violent fugitives such as Cosby are given the highest priority by the Marshals because of their potential to harm others while they remain at large,” said Benigno Reyna, Director of the U.S. Marshals.

Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Trent Touchstone, who heads the DFW FAST fugitive arrest team, said Cosby had been under surveillance at two different motels in the south Dallas vicinity during the past 1½ days. “Last night, 12 members of the Strike Team forced entry into her room at the Deluxe Inn at 9626 C.F. Hawn Freeway,” said Touchstone. “She was surprised and offered no resistance.” A small quantity of marijuana packaged for possible sale was found in the room, along with about $2,000 in small currency. Cosby is being held at the Dallas County Jail, and is awaiting a hearing for her return to Louisiana.

Touchstone credited the arrest to “old Deputy Marshal style” police work, and to the excellent leads developed by two Dallas Police Officers who currently serve on the DFW FAST squad. “Tracking down Cosby and following her activities since she arrived in Texas was not accomplished with high tech surveillance techniques,” said Touchstone. “She was located because of lots of interviews, and by working the data bases.” Dallas Sheriff Lupe Valdez provided two Deputy Sheriffs who assisted with Cosby’s capture.

“Cosby is only the fifth woman to appear on the U.S. Marshals national fugitive listing since its inception in 1983,” said Robert J. Finan II, who heads the agency’s Investigative Services Division. “She was captured quickly because of the significant level of cooperation that exists between the U.S. Marshals, local police, and deputy sheriffs.”

U.S. Marshals are the nation’s primary fugitive hunting organization and capture more federal fugitives each year than all other national law enforcement agencies combined. For more information about Cosby, and for her original wanted poster, please visit the web site at www.usmarshals.gov .