Over 100 suspects in Columbus facing a total of 301 charges after ‘Operation Street Sweep’

At least 104 suspects were arrested and 301 charges were filed during “Operation Street Sweep” through high-crime areas in Columbus last week, authorities said Tuesday.

“They did a good job,” Columbus Police Maj. J.D. Hawk said of the six-day, Monday through Saturday operation. “It’s good to get 104 people off the streets and 301 charges. They were working constantly, nonstop.”

Using computer generated information from Intelligence Led Policing and officers working cases, the Special Operations Unit and Fugitive Squad were directed to Winston Road, East Highland and other areas to arrested multiple people who were wanted for drug possession, homicides, aggravated assaults, armed robberies, burglaries and other crimes.

Jeremy Hildebrand Jr., 17, and Decarlos Warren, 20, both of Columbus, were among those arrested on outstanding warrants. Hildebrand was stopped about 10:35 p.m. Friday for failing to use a signal on Armour Road. Driving without a license, he was wanted on outstanding warrants that included 12 counts of participation in criminal gang activity, one count of kidnapping, hijacking a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime related to an Aug. 1 incident on Dove Street.

Warren was taken into custody on Thursday at Eagle Trace Apartments on Torch Hill Road. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault in a July 16 shooting at 4855 Toney Drive and held in the Muscogee County Jail. He is accused of shooting one victim in the hand and another was struck in the face with the butt of a gun.

To speed the operation along and keep officers on the streets, Hawk said police set up a processing center.

“Everything went very well,” he said.

Two possible homicide suspects were arrested on other charges and held while the investigations are continuing.

“By their efforts, they were helping the Homicide and Robbery and Assault Unit in locating people we were having difficulty locating,” Hawk said.

The nearly weeklong operation also collected 14 guns off the streets. Officers were unable to round up all the suspects because some fled in vehicles.

“It’s not worth putting public life in danger,” Hawk said. “Some did get away.”

In one case, a vehicle was stopped for a cracked windshield. Police learned that many people didn’t even live in the neighborhoods.

”Saturating an area with police presence and by paying attention to smaller violations, a lot of times it leads to bigger fish,” Hawk said. “That’s what a lot of these did.”

With 40 years of police experience, Hawk said great people live in the city and deserve to be safe.

“They don’t deserve to live with people coming into their neighborhoods and causing total disruption, taking it over, putting them in fear to even go outside of their door and even fear to even talk to police,” he said. “ We want to help. We want them to start talking to us.”

The people aren’t victims of crimes today but that could change in the days ahead.

“By helping to get these people out of their neighborhoods and off their streets can make their lives safer,” he said.

This story was originally published August 21, 2018 at 12:00 AM.