St. Louis Crime Surge Ends With 412 Warrants Cleared, $1.25 Million Seized

Operation Show Me Justice is over. The Justice Department, the ATF, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri announced on Thursday the end of the ATF-led violent crime surge in St. Louis. The department put the totals at more than 435 violent offenders arrested, 166 illegal firearms seized and 81 kilograms of drugs taken off the streets.

Participating agencies cleared 412 warrants, including 32 search warrants, and seized six machine gun conversion devices and more than $1.25 million in currency tied to suspected illegal gun and drug deals, the department said. Those arrested included people with histories of illegal machine gun possession, carrying stolen firearms, resisting arrest, felon-in-possession violations and straw purchasing. Spectrum News reports that Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said 412 of the 435 people arrested were already wanted on outstanding state warrants, including one suspect with seven.

The two-month surge paired 90 federal authorities from several agencies with 30 members of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Spectrum News reports. The Justice Department said St. Louis police, the Marshals, the DEA, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations all took part. Investigators combined local intelligence with ballistic leads from the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network and crime-gun tracing to connect shootings, link firearms to multiple crime scenes and spot trafficking patterns.

McCotter said the operation shows what happens when federal, state and local partners unite behind one mission of protecting communities from violent criminals. ATF Director Rob Cekada said the operation removed violent offenders from the street, cut off their access to firearms and dealt a significant blow to the criminal networks endangering the city. U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces S. Serralta called the results unprecedented for residents, commuters, students and visitors to the Gateway City.

St. Louis Police Chief Robert J. Tracy said the partnership and the department's commitment to every neighborhood continue beyond the surge. Cekada said a Crime Gun Intelligence Center, a partnership with St. Louis police, will arrive in January, Spectrum News reports. It brings more federal agents and analysts who will focus on collecting shell casings and tracing them to their source.