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 Savannah,
GA – A Savannah man wanted for Aggravated Child Molestation and 2 counts of
False Statements and Writings was arrested by the United States Marshals Service
Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force in Sulphur Springs, Texas on March 8, 2012.
Dionte Thomas, 28, was wanted by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department after
Thomas failed to appear in court in Savannah, Georgia. The original charges
stemmed from a Pooler, Georgia incident where he was charged in June of 2010.
After Thomas was indicted by the March 2011, Grand Jury, the case was turned
over the Savannah Office of the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task
Force. An investigation conducted by Task Force Officer Andrew Staley lead
investigators to believe that Thomas was in Texas. Leads were sent to Texas in
July 2011 and he was arrested by the Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Task
Force. Thomas was extradited back to Savannah, Georgia in August 2011. After
approximately a month in jail, Thomas was released on bond. The investigation
revealed that Thomas left the Savannah area and possibly went back to Texas.
Thomas was also supposed to wear a leg monitor so authorities could monitor his
whereabouts and he never got the monitor. On October 25, 2011, Thomas was
supposed to appear in court in Chatham County and failed to appear in court. TFO
Staley again sent leads to Texas to locate and arrest Thomas. At the time of the
first arrest Thomas was living with his girlfriend at 201 W. Spence Street in
Sulfur Springs, Texas. The Texas Task Force found a new address for the
girlfriend as she had moved since the July arrest. The Texas Task Force went to
the new address of 20 Houston Drive, Sulphur Springs, Texas and found Thomas.
Thomas was arrested without incident. Another fugitive is now off the street.
Thomas is awaiting extradition back to Georgia. Those charged with sex offenses,
especially involving a child are a high priority for the Marshals Service.
Annually, investigations carried out by the U.S. Marshals result in the
apprehension of over 36, 000 federal fugitives. More federal fugitives are
arrested by the Marshals Service than all other federal agencies combined. In
2011, U.S. Marshals led task forces arrested more than 86,000 state and local
fugitives, which cleared over 113,000 warrants.
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 Office 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, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, the McIntosh County
Sheriff’s Department, the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department, the Bulloch
County Sheriff’s Department, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s 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.
Additional information about the
U.S. Marshals Service can be found at
http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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