GREENEVILLE-A week-long effort from June 22 to 28 bylocal,
state and federal law enforcement officers in East Tennessee led by theU.S. Marshals Service,
resulted in 380 felony arrests for violent crimes, sexcrimes and drug crimes.
Operation Falcon (which stands for Federal And LocalCops Organized Nationally) cleared
688 warrants in the 41 counties that make upthe Eastern District of Tennessee, officials said.
Of these arrests, 26 were for sexual offenses, and 14unregistered sex offenders were
arrested, said Warren Mays Jr., supervisorydeputy U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District. In
addition, four homicidesuspects were arrested, and 176 narcotics arrests were made, he
said.
Seized were 3.5 kilograms of narcotics, includingmarijuana, heroin and cocaine, Mays
said at a press conference Wednesday at theJames H. Quillen United States Courthouse.
Evidence gathered during the arrests is currentlyunder review, he said, to determine the
potential for other federal charges.
10-County Effort
Efforts in the 10 Northeast Tennessee counties thatmake up the Greeneville division were
coordinated from here, Mays said.
The effort based out of Greeneville netted 74 arrests.Mays
said 11 of those arrests were in Greene County and 11 were in CockeCounty.
Specific information was provided for only a handfulof the arrests.
Jeff Hedden, the U.S. marshal for the EasternDistrict, said the overall East Tennessee
effort ranked 14th in terms of thenumber of arrests, out of 94 federal districts across the country
that alsotook part Operation Falcon.
Hedden said local efforts involved the Kingsport,Bristol and
Morristown police departments, and the sheriff's departments inGreene, Washington, Cocke and Hamblen
counties.
Praising Greene County Sheriff Steve Burns for hiscooperation, Hedden said, "We always
tend to lean on our goodfriends."
Burns was involved in a standoff with an armed man atthe time
of the press conference and could not attend.
Asked about it this morning, Burns said, "We havean
excellent working relationship with the U.S. Marshals Service.
"We appreciate them putting this
Operation Falcontogether, and we appreciate the opportunity we had to work with them to helpget some
warrants served and some people off the street."
Each participating officer was sworn in as a
specialdeputy U.S. marshal immediately prior to the start of the operation, Mays said.This special
authority empowered them to work across traditional lines ofjurisdiction throughout the
week.
Also participating, Hedden said, were the TennesseeBureau of Investigation, the
Tennessee Highway Patrol, the state probation andparole service, the Social Security Administration,
the U.S. Postal Service,the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Federal Bureau
ofInvestigation, and "our very good friend" Russ Dedrick, U.S. Attorneyfor the Eastern District of
Tennessee.
Dedrick said he and his staff were happy to work withlaw enforcement on this important
operation.
Noting the high number of arrests, Dedrick said,"You can't measure that in terms of
lives saved and problemserradicated."
Dedrick said East Tennessee as a whole owes the"modern-day
Marshal Dillons" of the U.S. Marshal's Service "adeep debt of gratitude" for putting together and
coordinating the massiveeffort.
Dedrick addressed several dozen law enforcementofficersattending the press conference,saying, "Most of all, thanks to all of you
agents."
Mays said the U.S. Marshals Service "could neverhave been able to produce anywhere near
this many arrests" without thehelp of those present.
688 Warrants Cleared
Mays said the380 arrests cleared
688 outstanding warrants. He said this was possible becausemany of those arrested had multiple
warrants against them. Also, investigationsturned up warrants against people who were deceased, or
already in prison orjail.
Mays said some may ask "Why you can't makearrests like that all the
time?"
He said the intense effort involved about 150 lawenforcement officers and U.S. attorneys
all over East Tennessee working 12 to18 hours per day, every day for a week.
"You're just not able to sustain that kind ofeffort" for much longer than a week, he
said. Mays said he personallyworked 16 to 18 hours each day.
The effort in the 10-county
Greeneville districtinvolved about 40 agents.
Mays said this was the third time that a
Falcon-typeoperation has taken place in East Tennessee.
In the past, Falcon operations have
taken placeprimarily in large cities.
Hedden said he was gratified that the effort has beenextended
into smaller cities and towns, and rural areas. "I'm proud thatthey're finally bringing this
home."
He said "the communities all of us live in"are made safer by such efforts. "Working
togeher, sharing resources, makesus stronger," he said, and the effort "makes us stronger, not only
asa community, but as a nation."
Hedden said U.S. marshals typically spend a lot oftheir time
working on careful investigations, often involving white-collarcrime, but most of them were deputies
at the county level early in theircareers.
The veteran lawman said he personally thinks most
U.S.marshals find, as he does, that this type of"cuffin' and stuffin' "
operation, where large numbers ofsuspects are arrested in a short period, is a gratifying change
from theirnormal routine.
In addition to taking criminals off the street, Heddensaid, a high-profile
operation such as this one can "get some people'sattention."
The press conference highlighted one
Cocke Countyarrrest, and took advantage of the opportunity to draw attention to twofugitives still
at large who are wanted on sexual battery charges.
Cocke County Arrest
Ronnie A. Britt, of Cocke County, was arrested
duringOperation Falcon on old warrants charging him with two counts of sale anddelivery of
marijuana.
When arrested on June 25, according to U.S. marshals,Britt had more than 14 ounces of
crack cocaine in his possession, two pounds ofmarijuana, a loaded shotgun and more than $3,000 in
cash. In 2000, he pledguilty in Morristown to four counts of delivery of a controlled
substance.
The marshals also noted that John Sheridan Sneed, 45,is wanted for aggravated sexual
battery involving a girl who was six years oldand a boy who was seven at the time. Kristine Marie
Sneed, 30, is also chargedin that crime. The Kingsport Police Department is the investigating
agency.
Anyone with information should contact the KPD at(423) 229-9300 or the U.S. Marshals
Service at 638-3391.
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