‘The Worst Of The Worst’: OCPD, US Marshals Take Down 47 Wanted Fugitives In 'Operation Spartan'

Oklahoma City police and the U.S. Marshals Service recently teamed up to make city streets safer. They spent one week tracking down and putting violent felons behind bars.

The task force went looking for what they called "the worst of the worst." They said all the fugitives had warrants for violent crimes, some were wanted for murder.

“Anyone who has a violent crime warrant, it’s not just going away,” Sgt. Dillon Quirk of the Oklahoma City Police Department said. “So, it’s our job alongside the U.S. Marshals to execute these warrants and take violent criminals off the streets.”

Before Oklahoma City police and the U.S. Marshals task force hit the streets, they collected intel on all their wanted targets.

“A whole packet gets worked up on them,” Sgt. Wes Cadena of the U.S. Marshals Service said. “So, when the teams are ready to go, they know all their info inside and out on the person.”

They must work fast so the fugitive does not run.

“Most of them are going to be gang members and they have to meet a certain criteria for us to get involved,”’ Cadena said. “The U.S. Marshals task force.”

The agencies spent one week in late August working together on "Operation Spartan." Even Oklahoma City Chief of Police Wade Gourley went along to watch his officers in action.

“All of OCPD resources have been embedded with the U.S. Marshal task force,” Cadena said. “And everybody we divide up into teams and we have targets assigned.”

One by one, they arrested 47 people in various parts of the metro. During searches of homes and cars they found more than 17 grams of crack cocaine and methamphetamine, hundreds of pills and seven guns, including an AK-47.

“It’s our job to take care of the warrant,” Cadena said. “Bring justice to everyone on both sides and do it the safest way possible.”

Police said several of their wanted suspects were located in jails around the metro and one died before the start of the joint operation.