Fugitive Safe Surrender
Akron, Ohio – July
11-14, 2007
Fugitive
Safe Surrender in the Akron/Summit County area took place on July
11-14, 2007, under the leadership of
Peter J. Elliott, United States Marshal for the
Northern
District of Ohio. One of the most successful Fugitive Safe
Surrender operations to be conducted by the Marshals Service, the
program resulted in 1,125 individuals turning themselves in to law
enforcement over the four-day period.
The very first Fugitive Safe Surrender operation took place in
Cleveland, Ohio, in August 2005. Encouraged by the success of that
operation, as well as similar programs in Phoenix, Arizona, and
Indianapolis, Indiana, Marshal Elliott was determined to replicate it in
Summit County. For more than a year, he worked with community and
criminal justice leaders to lay the groundwork for a successful
operation in Akron. Bishop Joey Johnson of The House of the Lord Church
agreed to serve as the faith-based leader of Fugitive Safe Surrender
in Akron and hosted the surrender days in his church. Bishop Johnson
recruited more than 100 volunteers from both his church and the
community at large to assist with FSS functions during the four-day
surrender period.
In addition to the Marshals Service, key judicial participants included
the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the Summit
County Common Pleas Court, and the Akron Municipal Court. Judge John R.
Adams, Judge Brenda Burnham Unruh, and Presiding Judge John E. Holcomb,
provided invaluable support throughout program development and the four
days of the operation. Summit County Clerk of Court Daniel M. Horrigan
and Akron Municipal Court Clerk of Court Jim Laria also worked
tirelessly to assist in the FSS-Akron program development.
Front-line law enforcement partners included the Summit County Sheriff’s
Office and the Akron Police Department. Others who were instrumental in
the program’s success included the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the
Northern District of Ohio, the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, and
the Akron City Prosecutor‘s Office, as well as the Summit County Legal
Defender, the Akron Bar Association, the University of Akron Law School,
the Ohio State Attorney General’s Office, Akron Mayor Donald Plusquellic,
the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Oriana House of Akron, the Urban
League of Akron, and Clear Channel Radio.
Of the more than 1,100 individuals who surrendered, approximately 100
were wanted on outstanding felony warrants. Each of the individuals who
surrendered with an active warrant was seen by a judge at the
Fugitive Safe Surrender site for disposition of his or her case.
Nearly all of the individuals who were wanted on non-violent warrants
were given bond, new court dates, or released directly from the church,
while only six individuals were arrested due to the violent nature of
the crimes for which they had been charged.
Both hard-luck and feel-good stories abounded through the course of the
operation. Retelling the story of one fugitive, who had traveled all the
way from Atlanta at the urging of his fiancé in order to clear up his
outstanding warrant, Marshal Elliott said, “This is only one of hundreds
of great stories I have heard over the past four days. Fugitive Safe
Surrender opens doors for fugitives who think that there is no door
to open. The opportunity for fugitives to surrender peacefully creates a
winning solution for law enforcement, the families of the fugitive, and
the community.” |
|

|