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U.S. Marshals Hawaii Fugitive Task Force officers arrested 22 fugitives, including a man with a rifle, during a three-day operation on Kauai that ended Thursday afternoon.
The task force targeted fugitives wanted for drug possession, robbery, sex assault and other violent crimes, the Marshals Service said. Officers cleared 34 state warrants.
Thursday morning, task force officers arrested Portugal native Marco Paulo Rodrigues, 37, in Kapaia Valley, located on Grove Farm, for multiple outstanding warrants, according to a Marshals Service news release. Rodrigues, a green card holder, was sought by Kauai County officials for probation violation and criminal contempt of court. He was also charged with possession of prohibited firearm. During the arrest, task force officers recovered ammunition, drug paraphernalia and a .22-caliber rifle outside Rodrigues’ tent.
Rodrigues, who eluded authorities on several occasion, was living at the campsite for about a month, the news release said. Rodrigues was being held in Kauai Community Correctional Center on $11,500 bail.
Task force officers also conducted a sex offender compliance sweep. Of the 120 names on the offender list, 103 sex offenders are compliant and 27 were noncompliant. Seventeen of the noncompliant sex-offenders were brought into compliance. Of the remaining 10 noncompliant offenders, investigative reports are being made for submission to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for review and possible charges.
The task force is made up of deputy U.S. marshals, Hawaii Sheriffs Division, Maui Police Department, Hawaii County Police Department, Kauai Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
