East TN Operation FALCON swoops in on meth lab cook
July 11, 2009 by Meth Lab Homes
James Winnie captured by Operation Falcon
East Tennessee: Operation Falcon reports that a meth lab cook, named James Winnie, is one of 242 fugitive felons that they have taken in to custody during their collaborative effort to take some of East Tennessee’s worst criminals off the streets. Winnie was wanted on over 15 outstanding warrants according to the The Hamilton County Sheriffs Department, warrants for crimes that included: assault, credit card fraud, burglary of vehicles, manufacturing methamphetamine, and probation violations.
June 17, 2009 – Winnie gets captured
According to reports about the day that James Winnie was captured, police spotted him around 3 a.m. driving down Mullins Cover Road in Marion County. When police attempted to stop him, he put his car in high gear and a road race began on Highway 41. Police say that Winnie was travelling at speeds close to 110 MPH during his escape route over Raccoon Mountain on Elder Mountain Road.
His car finally stopped, when it veered out-of-control and landed in the woods on Pan Gap Road. Winnie then exited his vehicle and took off on foot through the woods. What Winnie didn’t know was that police from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Valley Authority Police, Chattanooga Police, Marion County, Hamilton County, and United States Marshals Service were setting up a perimeter around the area. It didn’t take him long to figure out that they’d sent in a K-9 dog to find him though.
Police say that despite the fact that Winnie was being held by the pearly whites of their K-9 dog, he still refused to surrender to them. A bite by the K-9 dog however, changed his mind and he surrendered. After being taken to Erlanger hospital for treatment, Winnie was taken to the Hamilton County Jail by Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputies.
Prior to Winnie’s arrest, police say they arrested his girl friend Jessica Airks, when they found stolen property in the car that she was driving – stolen property that citizens had reported had been stolen out of their vehicles.
About FALCON:
Federal And Local Cops Organized Nationally, is a collaborative effort by the U.S. Marshals Service, other federal law enforcement agencies, and local partnerships. Since the U.S. Marshals Service began Operation FALCON in 2005, FALCON Teams have made 91,086 arrests and cleared 117,874 warrants, in states across the U.S.
Operation Falcon arrest history
FALCON East TN 2009
In 2009, 242 fugitive felons in eastern TN were taken in to custody.
In East TN, local partnerships included the collaborative efforts of 24 counties. FALCON helped law enforcement agencies in East TN, who have limited resources to share resources and close cases that have been open for long periods of time.
East TN law enforcement agencies involved in Operation Falcon included: Bristol Police Department, Chattanooga Police Department, Knoxville Police Department, Morristown Police Department, Blount County Sheriff’s Office, Bradley County Sheriff’s Office,Carter County Sheriff’s Office, Cocke County Sheriff’s Office, Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Unicoi County Sheriff’s Office, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) – State Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), 9th District Attorney General’s Office, 10th District Drug Task Force, 14th District Drug Task Force, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Federal Social Security-Office of Inspector General.
2008 FALCON Middle TN
In 2008, efforts by FALCON in middle TN resulted in more than 800 arrests.
Agencies contributing to FALCON 2008 included Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 19th Judicial District TF, 23rd Judicial District TF,Burns PD, Cannon SO, Cheatham SO, Clarksville PD, Columbia PD, Cookeville PD, Coopertown PD, Crossville PD, Cumberland City PD, Dickson PD, Dickson SO, Dover PD, Federal Air Marshal Service, FBI, Fentress SO, Franklin PD, Gainesboro PD, Gallatin PD, Giles SO, Greenbrier PD, Hickman SO, Houston SO, Humphreys SO, IRS-CID, Jackson SO, LaFayette PD, LaVergne PD, Lawrence SO, U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Lawrenceburg PD, Lewis SO, Macon SO, Maury SO, McEwen PD, Metro Nashville PD, Montgomery SO, Mt. Juliet PD, Murfreesboro PD, New Johnsonville PD, Nolensville PD, Pleasant View PD, Putnam SO, Robertson SO,Rutherford SO, Smith SO, Smyrna PD, Spring Hill PD, Springfield PD, Sumner SO, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Alcohol Beverage Commission, Tennessee Office of Inspector General, Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole, Trousdale SO, TVA Police, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs OIG, Wayne SO, Westmoreland PD, White Bluff PD, White House PD, White SO, Williamson SO, Wilson SO, Woodbury PD.
