SAN ANTONIO – KSAT 12 News reporter Tiffany Huertas and photojournalist Jason Foster recently went on a ride-along as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies hunted for violent gang members in a 90-day initiative to crack down on crime on the east and northeast sides of San Antonio.
Huertas and Foster rode along with Deputy U.S. Marshal Chris Bozeman for a behind-the-scenes look at Operation Triple Beam, which resulted in 215 arrests, including 40 federal fugitives. More than $176,000 worth of drugs were seized, $233,000 in currency was confiscated and 51 sex offender compliance checks were completed, Bozeman said.
Related: More than 200 nabbed in multi-agency operation targeting violent offenders
The team that the KSAT 12 News team followed was searching for suspects wanted on high-profile warrants.
"Murder suspects, robbery suspects, burglary suspects, sexual assaults. Registered sex offenders," Bozeman said.
After combing through their database and with assistance from multiple agencies, the team went into a home, where things quickly escalated.
The team went looking for a man who had an active arrest warrant for assault family violence. When they approached him, he made a run for it.
"As we were running through the embankment, he also jumped a fence and went into another neighbor's yard," Bozeman said.
With ground and aerial help from the San Antonio Police Department, they found the suspect.
"Every single time that I take a bad guy, or I take a fugitive off of the street, that is keeping someone else safe," Bozeman said.
While not all the cases are the same, the team's priority remains the same.
"We want to make sure to take that person into custody without incident, with no injuries," Bozeman said.
For those suspects who weren't found on that day, the team sends a message.
"If you have a warrant for your arrest, you need to turn yourself in. It's not a matter of if we are going to catch you, it's just a matter of when," Bozeman said.
The operation was conducted by the San Antonio Police Department Street Crimes Unit, the U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.