‘Operation No Escape’ nets 177 fugitives across Georgia

Operation No Escape nets hundreds of fugitives

Over a hundred fugitives sought by Georgia law enforcement have been apprehended. Federal officials collaborated with state and local authorities to capture more than a hundred individuals wanted for murder and other violent crimes.

ATLANTA - A six-week law enforcement sweep has taken 177 fugitives off Georgia streets, including suspects wanted for murder, assaults and crimes against children, authorities said Thursday.

What we know:

The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service led "Operation No Escape" in partnership with state and local agencies. More than 100 of the arrests were made in metro Atlanta, with 11 fugitives apprehended while traveling through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Among those arrested was Rico Arnold, wanted in connection to the Edgewood Avenue mass shooting in July that killed Santos Wyatt and injured 10 others. Agents also captured Votino Kapri Poon, a murder suspect who had been on the run for nearly four years following a deadly 2021 shooting at a Sandy Springs bar.

The operation netted 28 fugitives wanted for homicide offenses, 60 charged with assault and eight accused of crimes against children. Officials say crime is down in Georgia and nationwide, a trend they credit in part to joint partnerships.

FBI officials noted that suspects were taken into custody in a variety of places, including on a college campus, at Truist Park and inside a metro Atlanta restaurant.

What they're saying:

"Here in Georgia we aren't standing idly by. We are addressing violent crime through our partnerships and intelligence," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. "To the tremendous partnerships you have here in initiatives like this, we expect those numbers to continue to go down."

U.S. Marshal Thomas Brown of the Northern District of Georgia said the arrests removed some of the most dangerous offenders. "Some dangerous actors were taken off of the street and, who have made huge negative impacts on the community, and they have probably had multiple crimes by the time the FBI finished their investigations on them," he said.