Joining forces, merging ideas and resources, law enforcement personnel from city, state, county and country have launched an all-out coalescence of efforts to combat violent crimes in Southeast Texas – particularly Beaumont. Fruits of the joint effort dubbed “Operation Cease Fire” were revealed Aug. 23: more than 250 arrests, a dozen federal indictments, nearly 100 firearms taken off the streets…

Beaumont Police Department Chief Jimmy Singletary recounted the “substantial criminal histories” noted among the interdicted individuals during a press conference announcing Operation Cease Fire’s success to date, and asked for the public’s assistance moving forward.

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“BPD’s Operation Cease Fire began in mid-February in response to an increase in violent crimes much like many communities are facing across the county,” Singletary said. “Beaumont is no exception to this; however, even with staffing shortages, BPD chose to be proactive in combating violent crime.”

According to Singletary, Operation Cease Fire was created and aimed at reducing and disrupting violent crime by targeting prolific, repeat violent offenders and high-crime areas. As reported through the police department, the majority of firearms were recovered from suspects in the central and northern part of the city.

“Through this initiative, we were able to circumvent the lack of victim and witness cooperation as we interdicted these suspects in real time,” Singletary said. “Our 6-month long operation yielded the following results – almost 900 highrisk traffic stops, over 260 arrests, 12 of which were turned into federal firearms charges, with over 80 firearms seized. The arrests ranged from possession of controlled substances, to firearms violations such as unlawfully carrying a weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

“Many of the suspects arrested were known violent offenders with substantial criminal records and several were known homicide suspects.”

Frequent calls to north end locations such as North Street and McFaddin resulted in an early morning operation Aug. 3, when the BPD SWAT and Special Assignment Unit executed a search warrant at a suspected narcotics distribution hub at a residence in the 1100 block of McFaddin. The BPD’s SWAT Bearkat and other assets were utilized to make the entry, leading to the detention of multiple suspects, synthetic marijuana, evidence of narcotics trafficking, and a handgun discovered in the possession of 36-year-old Jessie Duffek, of Beaumont, who was subsequently arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Also apprehended at the scene for outstanding warrants were 58-yearold Gregory Marshall and 28-year-old Briana Johnson, both of Beaumont.

Around the same time, officers conducting undercover surveillance at 1395 North Street in Beaumont, another house “known for the sale of narcotics,” reportedly observed 25-year-old Beaumont transient Brittany Maxwell drive up to the residence and allow passenger Ronnie Palmore to exact a brief drug transaction before ferreting the two off while allegedly committing traffic infractions.

Officers engaging Maxwell at her vehicle noticed “a strong smell of marijuana” and, during a full search of Maxwell’s ride, discovered crack cocaine and a second clear baggie with multiple round cookie-shaped compressed white substances. The suspected narcotic weighed in at 136.16g and both Maxwell and Palmore were arrested.

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Even the evening before Singletary’s press conference, officers were in the same area at the scene of a neighborhood shooting incident that led to the recovery of a cache of drugs and weapons. Aug. 22, BPD reported, officers were called to the 2600 block of North St. in reference to shots fired.

“As officers arrived, they observed a white Chevrolet pickup operated by 21-year-old Beaumont resident Federico Rodriguez fleeing the scene,” BPD reported, further advising that Rodriguez fled the scene and was captured after a brief pursuit when the suspect crashed into another vehicle at Calder and 7th.

“Due to this crash,” police advised, “a quantity of assorted narcotics within Rodriguez’ truck became scattered about the roadway,” and more drugs and weapons were found when police searched the vehicle. Additionally, while following up on the shots fired call at the residence on North, looking for victims as well as other suspects, a narcotics search warrant was conducted and additional narcotics and guns were located and seized. Police recovered, from the one incident alone: 18 lbs. of marijuana, two grams of Percocet, 39 grams of Oxycodone, 11 grams of Adderal, 5.3 oz. of synthetic marijuana, one bottle of promethazine, 29 grams of cocaine, 6,803 grams of psych mushroom products, 20,677 grams of THC products (vapes gummies), three handguns (one of which is stolen), one shotgun, and $8,000 in cash.

The list of pending cases stretch on, and represent hundreds of law enforcement hours, including overtime, nights and weekend duty, Singletary said, cosigned by Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens, whose deputies have likewise been burning the midnight oil.

“I cannot express my gratitude enough to the officers who were a part of this operation,” Singletary said. “They worked long hours on their days off confronting the most prolific, violent offenders in Beaumont – and they did it with the utmost professionalism. The collaboration of multiple units and the partnership with area agencies marked a new way forward for the Beaumont Police Department with the goal that many of the strategies developed will integrate into future policing.”

In addition to BPD and the sheriff’s office, the collaborative effort has been championed by the Beaumont PD Citizen Advisory Committee, the 100 Club of Southeast Texas, Beaumont ISD, Beaumont’s City Manager Kenneth Williams and his office, Beaumont Mayor Roy West and his office, Jefferson County Criminal District Attorney Keith Giblin and his office, and United States Congressman Brian Babin and his office.

“Without your unwavering Texas grit,” Babin said of BPD and the supporting policing agencies, “surely chaos would take over.

“By working together, I have no doubt we can build a better brighter Beaumont where all residents can flourish and be safe.”

DA Giblin, a former federal magistrate whose been in law enforcement for decades, said the symbiosis in Beaumont is like nothing he has ever seen before.

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“This is not something they just did spur of the moment,” Giblin said of the local crew. “It involved a gathering of intelligence… these people sat through meetings involving these operations for months. It was meticulously planned.

“Federal, state and local law enforcement partnerships like that seen in Southeast Texas is unheard of in other parts of the country.”

Now, if the community will sign-on, Sheriff Stephens said, even more headway can be made.

“We’re out there working… but make those phone calls, tell us where the criminals are,” Stephens pleaded, underscoring her frustration with a story of a man gunned down in front of a crowd of individuals who refuse to ID the gunman. “There’s 2 million people out there, and nobody knows who shot the guy.”

Until residents become part of the solution, Stevens said, the problem will continue; but, so will officers of the law that work tirelessly to make the community safe for people like the sheriff’s 90-year-old parents.

“When I hear people talking about how unsafe Beaumont is, remember, while you’re sleeping safely in your home there are things going on you don’t know about to keep you safe,” Stephens added.

“Reducing violent crime is a complex and long-term endeavor that requires collaboration among various stakeholders, including law enforcement, community organizations, and our citizens,” Singletary summed up. “We will continue to build off of the intelligence that we have gathered throughout the operation and keep working to make our community safer.

“We need your help. We want citizens to cooperate with investigations. A lot times, citizens know who shot them, who did the damage – and they don’t want to cooperate. I would like to encourage the citizens of Beaumont to work with us to prevent crime in various ways by removing guns from your vehicles, cooperating with investigations, as well as utilizing Crime Stoppers to anonymously report crimes.”

“Certainly, this is what collaboration looks like,” Mayor West said, thanking the investigators involved in the initiative, the congressional representative in attendance, the federal agencies involved – and urging citizens to join forces with the law enforcement agencies tasked with making Beaumont a safer place to live, work and raise a family. “We live in strange times. We want to live in a safer world, but we as a community need to show up.”

Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY