U.S. Marshals Fugitive of the Week Leads to the Arrest of 31 Fugitives in 2020

Concord, NH – The United States Marshals Service has continued to been so fortunate to be partnered with Peter St. James and Pat Kelly with the "New Hampshire Wake Up Show" featuring the "Fugitive of the Week" program for the State of New Hampshire. This program was started with Peter St. James, back in 2007 and has seen tremendous success because of the program. In August, the U.S. Marshal, Nick Willard presented Peter St. James and the "New Hampshire Wake Up Show" with a plaque commemorating the great success of the program, which has led to more than 500 arrests!

2020 has been a bit of a rocky year for a variety of reasons which led to the "Fugitive of the Week" taking a 3-month hiatus from March to June, but the program continues to persevere, As always, the United States Marshals Service and the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force would like thank its countless partners in the media, the public and law enforcement for all of their support and hard work. Without this level of cooperation and teamwork, the task force would not be as successful as it is.

Although Peter St. James is no longer with the "New Hampshire Wake Up Show," I would personally like to thank him, Pat Kelly and WTPL "The Pulse" for joining forces to create the "Fugitive of the Week" program back in 2007. This program will continue with Pat Kelly at WTPL to bring the public, the media and law enforcement together to make New Hampshire a little bit safer for all of its residents and guests.

Additionally, to everyone who has provided countless valuable tips, we can never thank you enough for helping us to make our communities safer.

The "Fugitive of the Week" is just one small part of the work done by the U.S. Marshals Service here in New Hampshire. The U.S. Marshals here in New Hampshire are responsible for the day to day transportation and production of defendants for federal court hearings, as well as ensuring the overall security of the federal courthouse, the judges and staff. All of which has been complicated and revised during the ongoing COVID pandemic. On a national scale the U.S. Marshals are also charged with the seizure and forfeiture of assets taken in connection with civil and criminal cases; Prisoner transportation around the country to and from court hearings and correctional institutions (think Con Air!); Additionally, the U.S. Marshals Service operates the Witness Security Program, sometimes referred to as the "Witness Protection Program." This program provides for the security, safety and health of government witnesses and their authorized family members, whose lives are in danger due to their cooperation with the U.S. government.

All of this is done, while operating the very successful New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force. The task force is comprised of four full time task force officers including Belknap, Rockingham and Strafford County Sheriff's Offices, the Greenfield Police Department, along with deputy U.S. Marshals and over 40 local, county, state and federal agencies working together to locate and arrest fugitives around the state, country and world. As of December 16, 2020, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force has been responsible for locating 280 fugitives during 2020 to date. This would not be possible without the high level of teamwork and cooperation provided by the fugitive task force and all law enforcement agencies.

U.S. Marshal, Nick Willard said "The incredible success of the Fugitive of the Week program would not be realized without the community's involvement and the media's willingness to inform the public in our collective effort to keep New Hampshire streets safe." Willard continued, "All of these arrests can attest to the vigilance and bravery of the deputy U.S. Marshals and each of the Task Force Officers, who serve with courage and character to rid our streets of violent criminals who victimize our community."

Since the inception of the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force in 2002, these partnerships have resulted in over 8,218 arrests (Updated as of 12/16/2020).These arrests have ranged in seriousness from murder, assault, unregistered sex offenders, probation and parole violations and numerous other serious offenses. Nationally the United States Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive task forces, 8 regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.