U.S. Marshals in Texas Arrest 2 Men Wanted in NC for Sex Crimes Against a Child

Washington, DC – The U.S. Marshals (USMS) in Texas Wednesday arrested two men wanted in North Carolina for multiple crimes against a child.

Joshua Chrisander Burleson, 35, and Luke Leiserowitz, 34, were taken into custody at a hotel in the 500 block of West Bay Area Boulevard in Webster, Texas, by members of the USMS Gulf Coast Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force (GCVOFTF), acting on a collateral lead from the USMS Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force.

In January the Cary, North Carolina, Police Department obtained arrest warrants charging Burleson with three counts of second-degree forcible rape, statutory rape of a child, statutory sex offense with a child and incest. Leiserowitz was charged with first-degree forcible rape, first-degree sex offense and first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

Tips and leads spanned across the country and were investigated by multiple USMS members, including the Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, District of Connecticut, District of Vermont, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Southern District of Texas Gulf Coast Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force, along with other USMS investigative units.

GCVOFTF members observed and seized two handguns from inside the hotel room.

Burleson and Leiserowitz were subsequently transported to the Galveston County Jail.

“The United States Marshals Service, through its long standing federal, state, and local partnerships ensures that violent fugitives are continuously pursued, discretely located, and safely arrested,” said U.S. Marshal Glen M. McNeill Jr. for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “The investigation and capture of Burleson and Leiserowitz was yet another example of those efforts.”

U.S. Marshals task forces combine the efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the most dangerous fugitives. Eight congressionally funded regional fugitive task forces are located in the Carolinas, New York/New Jersey, Pacific Southwest, Great Lakes, Capital Area, Southeast, Gulf Coast, and Florida/Caribbean regions. Fifty-eight local task forces are dedicated to reducing violent crime by locating and apprehending wanted criminals. They also serve as the central point for agencies to share information on fugitive matters. Task force officers are state and local police officers who receive special deputations with the Marshals. While on a task force, these officers can exercise U.S. Marshals authorities, such as crossing jurisdictional lines.