For Immediate Release

Georgia Escapee Arrested in South Carolina

A fugitive wanted by the Georgia Department of Corrections was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department was in Ridgeland, South Carolina on January 27, 2009.

David W. Sikes, 39, was being sought on a warrant issued in Chatham County charging him with escape from the Coastal Transitional Center in Savannah, Georgia. Sikes was serving a five year sentence on a Burglary charge from Long County. Sikes left he center on January 16th, 2009 and failed to return.

The case was referred to the U.S. Marshals Savannah Office of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force for assistance in locating and arresting this subject. Numerous leads were worked by the Savannah Task Force. The leads indicated that Sikes was in the Ridgeland, SC area. The Marshals Task Force enlisted the aid of the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department to help find Sikes. Around 11:00am on January 27, 2009, the Task Force members and Jasper County deputies located Sikes in the 1000 Block of Stellar Jay Road, in Ridgeland, SC. Unknown to the officers was that Sikes had allegedly committed an armed robbery, at a gas station on I-95 prior to the Task Force and Jasper County deputies finding him. Sikes is being charged in South Carolina with this offense and will be extradited to Georgia when these charges have been completed.

Annually, investigations carried out by the U.S. Marshals result in the apprehension of approximately 36, 000 federal fugitives. More federal fugitives are arrested by the Marshals Service than all other federal agencies combined.

The Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force has three offices: Atlanta, Macon, and Savannah. The task force covers the whole state of Georgia. The Savannah Offices of the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force is a team comprised of investigators from the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department, the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Marshals Service. The task force objective is to seek out and arrest fugitives charged with violent crimes, drug crimes, sex offenders, and other felonies. Last year, U.S. Marshals Task Forces arrested more than 58,600 state and local fugitives on felony charges.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.