Officers conduct searches and serve warrants in Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren counties

HENDERSON -- Nearly 230 law enforcement officers from state, local and federal agencies joined forces this week for Operation Silent Night, an enforcement operation that served outstanding criminal warrants and conducted compliance checks on high risk and violent offenders on probation and parole in Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren counties.  

Significant arrests and accomplishments included:

• Confiscation of 10 firearms including assault rifles and significant quantities of ammunition
• Confiscation of significant quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and cash
• Location and cleanup of a home methamphetamine lab in Franklin County
• Absconder from post-release supervision safely brought into custody after a three-hour standoff in Franklin County
• Recovery of a stolen vehicle in Vance County
• Eight parole warrants issued and served for parole or post-release supervision violations
• 118 searches of probationers attempted, 71 completed
• 174 warrants served, 212 charges cleared, 32 probation violations issued

Participating agencies included:

U.S. Marshals Service
North Carolina Department of Public Safety - Adult Correction
North Carolina State Highway Patrol
Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
Granville County Sheriff’s Office
Vance County Sheriff’s Office
Warren County Sheriff’s Office
Butner Police Department
Oxford Police Department
Henderson Police Department
Henderson-Vance Emergency Operations
State Bureau of Investigation
NC Information Sharing and Analysis Center (NC ISAAC)
U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern District NC
Office of the District Attorney for District 9
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

“The U.S. Marshals Service along with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners will continually work to ensure that violent and repeat offenders on probation and parole supervision are compliant and held accountable for their actions,” said Scott J. Parker, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  “This initiative demonstrated the partnership and dedication of the men and women from the U.S. Marshals Service and our law enforcement partners throughout Eastern North Carolina.  I want to thank all of the law enforcement officers from the participating agencies for their relentless pursuit of justice here in North Carolina.”

 “Cooperation between state, local and federal law enforcement agencies is critical to maintaining safe communities everywhere. No agency can accomplish this alone,” said Frank L. Perry, Secretary of the NC Department of Public Safety. “We appreciate the quality work that these agencies do on a daily basis and we thank them for their collaboration on this operation.”

“The District Attorney’s office is proud to have participated in Operation Silent Night,” said Michael Waters, district attorney for Franklin, Granville, Warren and Vance counties.  “We expect the relationships forged during this effort will pay future dividends in detecting and prosecuting serious felons and probation violators.”

“The City of Henderson and its residents should be extremely pleased with the efforts put forth in this major operation,” said Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow. “Our hopes are that the work done in planning and executing Operation Silent Night will benefit our community in the months to come.  This is believed to be the largest regional operation for the Henderson Police Department and we are extremely grateful to the U.S. Marshals Service, The NC Department of Public Safety and our other partners for their professionalism and effort.”

“Every day the men and women of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office take proactive steps throughout the county to ensure the safety of the citizens,” said Franklin County Sheriff Kent Winstead. “This operation with local, state and federal agencies is another example of our commitment to continue our efforts in making this county a safe place to live and raise a family.”

“The SBI enjoys long-standing partnerships with local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies and will continue to engage in multi-agency operations like these to make North Carolina a safer place to live,” said NC State Bureau of Investigation Robert Schurmeier. “The SBI was able to contribute to overall efforts with several specialty units including the state's fusion center (ISAAC), Special Response Team, Clandestine Lab Unit, area field agents, bomb squad and Computer Crimes Unit.” 

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