Police: 102 Thieves, Sex Offenders, Drug Dealers Busted In Monroe Crime Sweep

MONROE (WWJ) - Authorities are hailing the success of a recent sweep to take dangerous criminals off the streets of Monroe County.

Michigan State Police First Lt. Tony Cuevas says 102 fugitives including thieves, drug dealers, sex offenders were nabbed during the month-long sweep in April.

"We were looking for, specifically, felons, serious misdemeanors and subjects that had drug crimes that were pending," Cuevas told WWJ's Sandra McNeill. "

Cuevas said about half-a-dozen local police departments assisted, along with the U.S. Marshall's Office in Toledo.

"Each agency submitted a list of individuals that they wanted to prioritize and look for," Cuevas explained. "From that we did a lot of front-end work, a lot of intelligence-gathering...trying to find the best addresses where we can summon teams so that we're not wasting our time."

"And then if we had any tips that were generated, we made those priorities," he said, "because those tips were current addresses, employer information."

Cuevas said seven of 37 tips received resulted in arrests.

Sweeps like these, Cuevas said, make the area safer for residents.

"You never know what (impact) one person's apprehension is gonna have, you know. It's kind of like a domino effect," he said. "There's a high likelihood that someone's going to commit another crime while they're out there."

Cuevas says they're putting together a new "Monroe County Most Wanted" list for another sweep coming up. You can check out the names and pictures at this link.