Ronald Gibbs, Acting U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Tennessee, on Thursday announced the successful conclusion of Operation FALCON 2009 with the arrest of 242 fugitive felons by FALCON Teams based in East Tennessee.

Of the 242 arrests in East Tennessee each division had several of special interest.

FALCON, which stands for Federal And Local Cops Organized Nationally is dependent on the shared resources of the U.S. Marshals Service, other federal law enforcement agencies, and local partners.

LOCAL CASES

In Greeneville, the cases of David D. Riley and James Dingus especially stand out, according to a news release issued by Gibbs.

Riley, also known as David Carter, and David Banner, is a 26-year-old man with an extensive criminal record in four states and was wanted by the Camden, N.J., Police Department for rape, kidnapping, and vehicle theft.

Riley is alleged to have stolen a car and kidnapping a young woman whom he had delivered furniture to a few days prior. After the kidnapping he allegedly raped the victim repeatedly until she was able to escape in Maryland a few days later. Riley was charged on June 9.

Deputy U.S. Marshals and detectives with the Camden police were able to develop leads that Riley might be hiding in Tennessee and referred the case to Operation FALCON Teams in Greeneville and Knoxville.

FALCON Teams from New Jersey and Tennessee worked side-by-side and were able to arrest Riley near Bybee on June 17.

Dingus is a 49-year-old man with a criminal record beginning in 1985, who had been wanted by the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office since September 2008 for six counts of aggravated sexual assault.

"After more than seven months as a fugitive, FALCON Teams based in Greeneville were able to locate and arrest this violent sexual predator in Kingsport on June 19," the news release said.

In addition, the Maryville Daily Times reported that according to information from the Blount County Sheriff's Office, Robert Michael Cannon, 47, was arrested by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Smoky Mountains Fugitive Task Force Thursday morning in Greeneville, where he had been living.

Cannon was being sought on a charge of failure to appear.

Operation FALCON Teams across the country arrested 35,190 fugitives. Since the U.S. Marshals Service began Operation FALCON in 2005, FALCON Teams have made 91,086 arrests and cleared 117,874 warrants.

The 242 arrests in East Tennessee included 11 fugitive sex offenders, six fugitives wanted for homicide, six fugitives accused of financial fraud, and more than 150 fugitives on various other violent crimes.

U.S. Marshal Gibbs said, "Without the help of our local partners a number of these cases might still be open today. The contribution they provided by working side by side with the Deputy U.S. Marshals of the Eastern District of Tennessee was the key to the success of Operation FALCON here in Tennessee."

In the East Tennessee Operation, FALCON Teams representing 23 different law enforcement agencies were based in Chattanooga, Greeneville, and Knoxville.