**The Arkansas Division of Correction’s North Central Unit K9 Team and the Arkansas Division of Community Correction’s Special Response Team worked along side the U.S. Marshals Service Eastern Arkansas Fugitive Task Force during this operation.**
U.S. Marshals Service Eastern Arkansas Official Press Release:
For Immediate Release
Sept. 27, 2024
LITTLE ROCK, AR – The U.S. Marshals Service arrested 3,421 violent fugitives, including 216 for homicide, 803 for assault and 482 for weapons offenses, during the latest phase of its high-impact fugitive apprehension initiative called Operation North Star FY 2024 (ONS FY24).
ONS FY24 enforcement activities covered 74 operational days, from May 10 to September 13, and targeted fugitives and violent offenders in 10 metropolitan areas, prioritizing those who used firearms in the commission of crimes or signaled high risk factors for violence. ONS FY24 targeted violent offenders wanted on violent warrants, including homicide, sexual offenses, robbery, aggravated assault and firearms violations. During the operation, investigators also seized 534 firearms, more than $508,000 in U.S. currency and 456 kilograms in illegal narcotics.
In the Little Rock area, ONS FY24 investigators arrested 163 fugitives, including 17 for homicide, 16 for forcible sexual assault, 19 for robbery, 35 for aggravated assault and 50 for firearms violations. Local investigators seized 38 firearms, more than $72,000 in U.S. currency, and 1.92 kilograms of illegal narcotics. The U.S. Marshals Service Eastern Arkansas Fugitive Task Force (EATF), comprised of deputy U.S. Marshals and task force officers from the Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Division of Community Correction (Special Response Team), Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, Little Rock Police Department, North Little Rock Police Department, Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office, and Jonesboro Police Department, have successfully concluded a multi-month operation aimed at apprehending violent fugitives in Central Arkansas.
The EATF carried out ONS FY24 in collaboration with several key agencies. Partnering with the Arkansas State Police’s Emergency Response Team (ERT), SWAT Unit, Air Surveillance Unit, and Drone Team, as well as the Little Rock Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Unit, the Arkansas Department of Corrections North Central Unit’s K-9 Chase Team, and Pafford Medical Services’ STRIIK Team, the operation spanned 20 enforcement days.
The 10 metropolitan areas other than Little Rock included in ONS FY24 were identified using data from the National Crime Information Center and the FBI Uniform Crime Report, as well as DOJ priorities, and included Dallas, Texas; North Charleston, South Carolina; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Phoenix, Arizona; St. Louis, Missouri (to include East St. Louis, Illinois); Birmingham, Alabama; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Dayton, Ohio; and San Antonio, Texas.
One significant arrest during the operation was Darrell Lawayne Esau II, a fugitive with multiple violent felony warrants from Little Rock, Sherwood, and Pulaski County. Esau, also wanted by the Arkansas Division of Community Correction as an absconder, faced charges including multiple counts of First-Degree Battery, Terroristic Acts, Possession of Firearms by Certain Persons, Aggravated Residential Burglary, and Domestic Battery. He had also been previously convicted of homicide charges.
On July 25, 2024, at approximately 9:00 a.m., members of the EATF and the Arkansas State Police ERT acted on information provided by the ASP Criminal Investigations Division (CID) that Esau was hiding in a mobile home on East Walnut Street in DeValls Bluff. Upon arrival, law enforcement officers made repeated attempts to have Esau surrender peacefully using a public address system, but he did not respond. Then, shortly after members of the EATF breached the front door of the residence, Esau opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle. The EATF team took defensive positions behind their vehicles as Esau continued firing multiple rounds, including bursts from full-automatic weapons.
The situation escalated into a four-hour standoff, during which the Arkansas State Police SWAT unit and the FBI’s SWAT unit arrived with armored vehicles. Despite efforts by ASP negotiators to facilitate Esau’s surrender, he continued firing until he was fatally shot at approximately 1:02 p.m. Investigators later determined that Esau fired approximately 200 rounds from five different weapons, which included fully automatic and high-powered rifles, and a Glock pistol with an illegal Glock switch installed.
On August 16, 2024, 17th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Reed McCoy concluded that the Arkansas State Police and U.S. Marshals Service used appropriate and reasonable deadly force during the standoff with Esau.
“We first launched Operation North Star in 2022 to identify and apprehend the most dangerous fugitives and violent offenders,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “From May to September of this year, the U.S. Marshals Service worked with state and local law enforcement partners in 10 metropolitan areas to arrest more than 3,400 fugitives and violent offenders and seize large quantities of firearms and fentanyl. I am deeply grateful to every Deputy U.S. Marshal, Task Force Officer, investigator, and police officer who carried out these arrests, and who did so at great risk to themselves.”
“Over the past year, the Marshals Service conducted Operation North Star in ten cities across the country experiencing high levels of gun violence,” said United States Marshals Service Director Ronald L. Davis. “Over 3,000 dangerous fugitives, including over 200 homicide suspects, were apprehended and removed from neighborhoods. The success of this operation is the result of the outstanding combined efforts of our Deputies and Task Force Officers, along with strong collaboration with the community and our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners.”
“The Eastern Arkansas Fugitive Task Force works tirelessly to suppress the actions of individuals who threaten the safety of our community, not just on a single day, but every day.” Said Acting U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Cory Harris. “Initiatives like Operation North Star, combined with our strong partnerships with local and state law enforcement, enable us to strategically concentrate our resources, ensuring a safer community for all.”
“I’m proud of the officers of the Arkansas State Police who worked hand-in-hand with the U.S. Marshals to pull this operation off,” said Governor Sanders. “We’ve taken violent criminals off our streets and made our state safer. I want to express my deepest gratitude to the men and women of the U.S. Marshals Service who led Operation North Star. “
Since July 2022, in a total of 30 locations, USMS Operation North Star initiatives have resulted in the apprehension of more than 10,200 wanted fugitives, including 1,153 charged with homicide, in addition to the removal of more than 1,425 weapons associated with violent crime. The agency utilized a data-driven, evidence-based approach to remove the dangerous criminals who are the drivers of violence in those communities. The concept behind interagency law enforcement operations such as ONS evolved largely from regional and district fugitive task forces. Since the 1980s, the USMS has combined its resources and expertise with local, state, and federal agencies to find and apprehend dangerous fugitives.
**For more photographs of the guns, drugs, and cash seized here in Little Rock, AR please contact Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Hammons via email at: Robert.Hammons@usdoj.gov
For more information, visit usmarshals.gov.
