AzPete
Well-Known Member
This game gets run about every two to three months around here. Do the wanted never read the news???? Man, money has its draw for sure.
40 arrests in warrants sting operation // See PHOTOS, VIDEO
Comments 18 | Recommend 1
Sheriff's Office set up phony office, offerred 'stimulus' money as a lure
November 04, 2009 02:21:00 PM
By S. BRADY CALHOUN / News Herald Writer
LYNN HAVEN — Clarence Polite thought Wednesday was going to be a good day.
He had arrived early at the former location of Bay County Supervisor of Elections on Mosley Drive to pick up a federal stimulus check for $600. The newly revamped and remodeled office was now the home of The Northwest Florida Stimulus Coalition Bailout. Polite was met by smiling receptionists and sent farther and farther into the building as he filled out forms and got closer to that check.
Finally, as he was handed a manila envelope, Polite asked the last worker where he could go to cash the check and was told he could go to any local bank and directed out the back door.
That’s when he was met by three large Bay County Sheriff's deputies, who surrounded him in seconds and forced his arms behind his back.
“I knew it,� he shouted. “I knew it.�
When he was arrested, Polite — and the dozens of wanted people who followed him through the final door and into the waiting arms of Deputy Chris Eaves, Lt. Joe Smiley and Sgt. Derek Groves — looked like they had just discovered Christmas had been canceled.
Polite, who was wanted for violating his probation, had been hoodwinked by an elaborate sting — dubbed Operation Bailout — designed to quickly and safely bring in dozens wanted on outstanding warrants. The joint operation was the brainchild of Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen, who had read about a similar setup by law enforcement in South Florida.
The operation began when several hundred people recently received letters from the Northwest Florida Stimulus Coalition Bailout. The letter told them they would be given stimulus funds if they called and made an appointment with the coalition. About 50 people made appointments, and several more called to say they would get down to the location on the appointed day as soon as they could, officials said.
See a gallery of photos from the sting. (Video will be posted soon.)
By 1 p.m., about 35 people had been arrested while members of the media witnessed the event. The Panama City Police Department, the state fire marshal’s office, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Florida’s Division of Alcohol Beverages and Tobacco, and deputies from Jackson and Gulf counties all assisted in the operation, officials said.
By 2 p.m., about 40 had been arrested, including two who left by car and were stopped by patrol deputies.
Most of the suspects allowed themselves to be arrested without a fight. A few had choice words for the deputies or protested they were not really the person wanted. One man who was arrested actually was not wanted, and he was released after deputies discovered he no longer had an active warrant.
Some were well-dressed and looked ready to go shopping at an upscale mall or put a down payment down on a car. Others looked like they could have been homeless. One suspect was an illegal immigrant who apparently believed he was entitled to U.S. stimulus funds, officials said.
Shortly after Trace Taylor was arrested for violation of probation, his girlfriend attempted to stand in the parking lot and warn people not to go inside.
“They asked her to leave,� sheriff's spokeswoman Ruth Corley said. “If she had not left, she would have been arrested.�
The girlfriend could have faced charges for interfering with a police operation, officials said.
Tasha Harrison, who was wanted for aggravated battery, had crack on her person and will now face a new charge, deputies said.
“I know this is not happening,� Elizabeth Hale said as deputies handcuffed her. She was wanted for petty theft.
‘Antsy’
As the operation wore on, some of the customers inside the building grew “antsy,� Capt. Greg Peel said.
“They’re seeing people coming in, not seeing anybody come back out.�
But the officials had planned for that, and at different times an undercover officer would walk through the building with a “check� celebrating his newfound riches.
“It’s for real,� one of them shouted as he walked through the building.
McKeithen and other managers had thought of several problems and planned for different eventualities.
Undercover deputies waited in various rooms to prevent people from fleeing once they got too far inside. Outside, deputies in work clothes used power tools to cover up the shouts or cries for help the suspects made as they left. All rooms were monitored by live security cameras, and deputies in the back of the building were able to alert Eaves, Smiley and Groves each time they had a new customer. The back part of the building also was heavily insulated to prevent people in front from hearing shouts from the back.
No Tasers were allowed on the premises, and during their morning meeting Sheriff Frank McKeithen reminded his officers of the movie “Road House,� an iconic flick where Patrick Swayze played a bouncer who warned his fellow bouncers to be gentle and patient with customers, until a situation called for something else.
“Be nice,� McKeithen said, quoting Swayze.
There was no point in being anything other than nice, McKeithen said later in the day.
“They’re outnumbered.�
If a suspect did manage to flee the scene, several deputies in unmarked cars were waiting to follow them and pull them over for a traffic violation. The suspects would be arrested at that time, McKeithen said.
Because of the operation’s proximity to Mosley High School, deputies were told to wait for more than a mile before pulling someone over. They also were ordered not to pursue suspects who sped away.
McKeithen said he was pleased Polite had been nabbed during Operation Bailout. Deputies have arrested Polite several times, and he often runs, forcing deputies to chase and search for him, McKeithen said. He added that he was hopeful Operation Bailout would serve as a warning to other wanted fugitives.
“It shouldn’t be that easy for them to walk among us,� McKeithen said. They can either “turn themselves in or be looking over their shoulder.�
40 arrests in warrants sting operation // See PHOTOS, VIDEO
Comments 18 | Recommend 1
Sheriff's Office set up phony office, offerred 'stimulus' money as a lure
November 04, 2009 02:21:00 PM
By S. BRADY CALHOUN / News Herald Writer
LYNN HAVEN — Clarence Polite thought Wednesday was going to be a good day.
He had arrived early at the former location of Bay County Supervisor of Elections on Mosley Drive to pick up a federal stimulus check for $600. The newly revamped and remodeled office was now the home of The Northwest Florida Stimulus Coalition Bailout. Polite was met by smiling receptionists and sent farther and farther into the building as he filled out forms and got closer to that check.
Finally, as he was handed a manila envelope, Polite asked the last worker where he could go to cash the check and was told he could go to any local bank and directed out the back door.
That’s when he was met by three large Bay County Sheriff's deputies, who surrounded him in seconds and forced his arms behind his back.
“I knew it,� he shouted. “I knew it.�
When he was arrested, Polite — and the dozens of wanted people who followed him through the final door and into the waiting arms of Deputy Chris Eaves, Lt. Joe Smiley and Sgt. Derek Groves — looked like they had just discovered Christmas had been canceled.
Polite, who was wanted for violating his probation, had been hoodwinked by an elaborate sting — dubbed Operation Bailout — designed to quickly and safely bring in dozens wanted on outstanding warrants. The joint operation was the brainchild of Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen, who had read about a similar setup by law enforcement in South Florida.
The operation began when several hundred people recently received letters from the Northwest Florida Stimulus Coalition Bailout. The letter told them they would be given stimulus funds if they called and made an appointment with the coalition. About 50 people made appointments, and several more called to say they would get down to the location on the appointed day as soon as they could, officials said.
See a gallery of photos from the sting. (Video will be posted soon.)
By 1 p.m., about 35 people had been arrested while members of the media witnessed the event. The Panama City Police Department, the state fire marshal’s office, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Florida’s Division of Alcohol Beverages and Tobacco, and deputies from Jackson and Gulf counties all assisted in the operation, officials said.
By 2 p.m., about 40 had been arrested, including two who left by car and were stopped by patrol deputies.
Most of the suspects allowed themselves to be arrested without a fight. A few had choice words for the deputies or protested they were not really the person wanted. One man who was arrested actually was not wanted, and he was released after deputies discovered he no longer had an active warrant.
Some were well-dressed and looked ready to go shopping at an upscale mall or put a down payment down on a car. Others looked like they could have been homeless. One suspect was an illegal immigrant who apparently believed he was entitled to U.S. stimulus funds, officials said.
Shortly after Trace Taylor was arrested for violation of probation, his girlfriend attempted to stand in the parking lot and warn people not to go inside.
“They asked her to leave,� sheriff's spokeswoman Ruth Corley said. “If she had not left, she would have been arrested.�
The girlfriend could have faced charges for interfering with a police operation, officials said.
Tasha Harrison, who was wanted for aggravated battery, had crack on her person and will now face a new charge, deputies said.
“I know this is not happening,� Elizabeth Hale said as deputies handcuffed her. She was wanted for petty theft.
‘Antsy’
As the operation wore on, some of the customers inside the building grew “antsy,� Capt. Greg Peel said.
“They’re seeing people coming in, not seeing anybody come back out.�
But the officials had planned for that, and at different times an undercover officer would walk through the building with a “check� celebrating his newfound riches.
“It’s for real,� one of them shouted as he walked through the building.
McKeithen and other managers had thought of several problems and planned for different eventualities.
Undercover deputies waited in various rooms to prevent people from fleeing once they got too far inside. Outside, deputies in work clothes used power tools to cover up the shouts or cries for help the suspects made as they left. All rooms were monitored by live security cameras, and deputies in the back of the building were able to alert Eaves, Smiley and Groves each time they had a new customer. The back part of the building also was heavily insulated to prevent people in front from hearing shouts from the back.
No Tasers were allowed on the premises, and during their morning meeting Sheriff Frank McKeithen reminded his officers of the movie “Road House,� an iconic flick where Patrick Swayze played a bouncer who warned his fellow bouncers to be gentle and patient with customers, until a situation called for something else.
“Be nice,� McKeithen said, quoting Swayze.
There was no point in being anything other than nice, McKeithen said later in the day.
“They’re outnumbered.�
If a suspect did manage to flee the scene, several deputies in unmarked cars were waiting to follow them and pull them over for a traffic violation. The suspects would be arrested at that time, McKeithen said.
Because of the operation’s proximity to Mosley High School, deputies were told to wait for more than a mile before pulling someone over. They also were ordered not to pursue suspects who sped away.
McKeithen said he was pleased Polite had been nabbed during Operation Bailout. Deputies have arrested Polite several times, and he often runs, forcing deputies to chase and search for him, McKeithen said. He added that he was hopeful Operation Bailout would serve as a warning to other wanted fugitives.
“It shouldn’t be that easy for them to walk among us,� McKeithen said. They can either “turn themselves in or be looking over their shoulder.�
