CINCINNATI (Deb Dixon) - They won't say exactly how they do it.
"We have our ways," was the explanation for the success of a Cincinnati Police Fugitive Apprehension Team. It's a team of seven that goes after people wanted for felonies and on the run. But what's the secret to their success?!
Damon Bailey's been on the run since October for aggravated vehicular assault that nearly killed another driver on Queen City Avenue. The fugitive apprehension team tracked him.
Officer Ken Kober of the Fugitive Apprehension Team said, "There are times we go to arrest them, first thing they say is, 'How did you know I was here?'"
It's what the team does; tracks felons on the run. It's high tech stuff, mixed in with an element of surprise and something else, a chill factor. The team does not hide their faces, call in SWAT or break down doors.
Sgt. Eric Vogelpohl said, "We're an old clothes unit, they know our faces, our vehicles. We get respect from the community because we treat people with respect and professionalism."
Seldom does the team go to a bad address. Other police departments use the Fugitive Apprehension Team, so does the F.B.I. And ATF. The numbers tell why. In 2015 it made 527 arrests, 35 of them for murder. The team tracked Michael Prewitt to Florida two months after eyewitness watched him shoot ex-girlfriend and mother, Kesha Jendrysik, in the head. A Crime Stoppers tip led the team to teenager Valentino Pettis for the murder and robbery of a Navy veteran as he walked home from work. And Thomas Stidham tried to hide from the fugitive team after his indictment for hitting and killing Cathy Chatfield with his car as she participated in a race.
It adds up. So far in 2016, in two months, the team's made 112 arrests; six for murder.
