The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Dallas Police Department announced a new summer initiative to combat gun violence on the streets of Dallas on Monday.
Joined by ATF Dallas Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Boshek and Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia, United States Attorney Leigha Simonton announced “Operation Take Aim” at a press conference attended by The Dallas Express on the morning of June 26.
Operation Take Aim is a two-fold initiative. First, it targets specific crime hotspots and zeroes in on the most dangerous repeat offenders, prosecuting their crimes federally. Second, the initiative includes deterrent programs to encourage individuals in the state criminal justice system to pursue education or other productive life paths as a constraint to committing more crimes.
“Violent crime has been and is still a serious concern in virtually all major American cities,” Simonton told reporters. “What you have in Dallas and other North Texas cities is a coordinated approach between federal and local law enforcement to target violent offenders and prevent serious injury or death.”
Simonton referenced the recent indictment and charges against Javier Dominique Suttles, 26, a repeat offender who has been arrested 13 times since 2014. He allegedly committed three armed robberies over five days in May while on probation.
If convicted, Suttles could face up to 27 years in federal prison, with one of the charges carrying a minimum of seven years.
When asked if a minimum of seven years is enough for violent offenders such as Suttles, Simonton told The Dallas Express that her office actually pushes for the maximum sentence for the offenses.
“Oftentimes what we do in such cases is argue for higher than what the mandatory minimum would be,” Simonton told The Dallas Express. “There are guidelines in the federal system, and they do base it, in part, on criminal history.”
ATF Dallas Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Boshek told reporters that the ATF remains committed to stopping gun violence in the Dallas region.
Boshek also praised DPD Chief Eddie Garcia and multiple police chiefs across North Texas.
“Nowhere in the country is there the support and cooperation amongst the federal prosecutors, state prosecutors, police departments, and the feds like it is here in North Texas,” claimed Boshek.
Violent crime in Dallas is a serious issue that Garcia and the Dallas Police Department have been working to reduce since he joined the department as police chief in early 2021.
Murders, up more than 20% during the first four months of the year, continue to trend upward as the department battles staffing issues. The department currently has a little over 3,100 officers, but it needs “hundreds more,” according to Garcia.
But Garcia has said he remains committed to the city and its residents. While his job is to police and put criminals behind bars, he also says, “We need to reinvest in people and places.”
“We know sometimes people commit crimes because of underlying reasons that have literally nothing to do with the actual crime,” Garcia added.
Speaking about violent criminals who actually want to change their lives and become a more productive part of society, Garcia told reporters, “We want them to succeed because when they succeed, so do we.”
However, Garcia cautioned any who break the law, “Do not mistake this kindness for weakness. If you elect to commit violence in the city of Dallas, we will come get you.”
“We are very good at what we do, and we will not tolerate violence in our city. We will not tolerate our neighborhoods in pain,” said Garcia. “Reoffending is not an option.”
Focusing on violent crime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas continues to rank among the top five districts out of 94 in the nation for gun crime cases filed, according to Simonton.
As a positive, “Our conviction rate in this area stands at 97%, four percentage points higher than the national average,” said Simonton.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks