Atlanta, GA - This afternoon, a
violent fugitive, wanted on for the attempted murder of a police
officer was arrested by investigators from the U.S. Marshal’s
Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Investigators believe that Mario Woodward, 32, shot a Montgomery
Police Officer Keith Houts five times during a routine traffic stop
yesterday, at approximately 12:30pm. Several of the shots are
believed to have been fired after the officer was already down.
Officer Houts remains in critical
condition at Jackson Hospital after being shot in the head.
Investigators from the Montgomery, Alabama Police Department, the
U.S. Marshal’s Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the U.S.
Marshal’s Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force have been working
together, since the incident occurred yesterday.
This afternoon, after an extensive surveillance covering multiple
cities in two states, investigators from the U.S. Marshal’s SERFTF
were able to locate Woodward at a Texaco on Jodeco Rd. in McDonough,
GA. He was arrested after being observed exiting the station and was
arrested without incident.
The Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (SERFTF) is a team
comprised of law enforcement officers from the United States
Marshal, as well as, 27 other local, state and federal agencies. The
task force’s objective is to seek out and arrest the regions most
violent offenders. Since the inception of the task force in
September of 2003, the SERFTF has closed over 7900 felony warrants.
Annually, more fugitives are arrested by U.S. Marshals than all
other federal agencies combined.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at
http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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