NEW ORLEANS — An operation spearheaded by the NOPD and other state and national law enforcement agencies rounded up 45 wanted suspects for a variety of alleged crimes including five people facing murder counts and eight others facing armed robbery counts.
NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said the operation was called “Operation 2019, new year, clean sweep.”
Along with the NOPD, other participants in the sweep included: US Marshal Task Force, Louisiana Probation & Parole, HANO, FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and EMS.
There was a significant drop in murders in 2018 over the previous year and that trend has continued, so far, into January with a count of nine killings so far this month against a total of 17 last January.
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“We are making progress,” said Ferguson.
Ferguson said that suspects in violent crimes were targeted and the operation took place at “various locations” around New Orleans.
A news release Tuesday said those arrested included 21-year-old Derrick Groves, accused of killing two people and wounding three at a Mardi Gras party last year. The indictment against him was unsealed last week after his arrest in Slidell.
It says another man, identified as 30-year-old Daniel Ray, was arrested last Wednesday on a warrant accusing him of escaping from a Washington state prison on Nov. 24, 2016. The statement did not give any other details.
The sweep involved city, state and federal law enforcement officers.
The first arrest was made Jan. 7 and the last was Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.