As part of a continuing initiative to reduce crime in Hot Springs and Garland County, the Hot Springs Police Department, in conjunction with the Garland County Prosecutor’s Office, Garland County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas Community Corrections, U.S. Marshal Service and the U.S. Department of State/Diplomatic Security Service initiated a felony warrant round-up labeled as Operation Thunderstruck, which began a little less than a week ago and eventually culminated to a large scale operation that occurred on Wednesday, March 1. This operation, involving 52 law enforcement officers from local, state and federal agencies resulted in the arrest of 37 individuals that had outstanding felony warrants for their arrest.
The vast majority of these warrants consisted of theft-related offensives, such as Breaking or Entering, Commercial and Residential Burglary, Theft by Receiving and Forgery. We have also arrested individuals wanted for violent offenses including; Battery in the 2nd Degree, Aggravated Residential Burglary, Aggravated Assault, Sexual Assault in the 2nd Degree, Domestic Battery and charges stemming from Possession of Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver.
This operation was a tremendous success, and there were no injuries or major incidents to report during the joint cooperation of all the law enforcement agencies involved.
Chief Stachey stated, “The message we are sending to criminals in our community is that if you commit a crime here you will be held accountable. We will continue proactive efforts such as this in the future to insure our citizens and visitors alike are provided a safe environment to live and play.”
Sheriff McCormick stated, “This operation would not have been possible without the investment the citizens of our community made when they passed the tax that allowed us to build our state-of-the-art detention center.”
Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Lawrence stated, “It is with great pride, not only as the Prosecuting Attorney, but also as a citizen of Garland County, that I commend these officers and the participating agencies on the countless hours of preparation, planning, coordination and, most importantly, teamwork that has been put into making this operation a success.”
Chief Stachey and Sheriff McCormick would like to thank the men and women of the following agencies for their assistance; the Hot Springs Police Department, Garland County Sheriff Department, Garland County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, 18th East Judicial Drug Task Force, Arkansas Community Corrections, United States Marshals and United States Department of State/Diplomatic Security Service.