Five Probation Officers and two Assistant Chief Probation Officers from the Roxbury and Dorchester Divisions of Boston Municipal Court recently joined forces with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in a two-day warrant sweep titled “Operation Avalanche.”

 

A total of 60 individuals were arrested during this effort. Of that number, 57 were identified as “criminal aliens” who had offenses that ranged from rape and kidnapping to attempted murder and drug and weapons charges and/or convictions, according to information provided by U.S. Immigration. The other three individuals had outstanding warrants for deportation. Eight of the 60 individuals apprehended were on probation.

 

Five Boston Municipal Court(BMC)-Dorchester Probation employees and two employees from BMC-Roxbury participated in the sting. They included Dorchester’s First Assistant Chief Probation Officer Anthony Gully, Assistant Chief Probation Officer William Stewart and Probation Officers Jason Wirth, Paul Fullam, and Sean Norris. Representing BMC-Roxbury were Probation Officers Paul Shaughnessy and Tim Pasquale.

 

“I am very proud of the active role which Probation Officers fulfilled in this law enforcement operation. Their vast knowledge of the community contributed greatly to the apprehension of these aggravated felons. Without doubt, this powerful partnership has contributed to safer streets within Suffolk County,” Gully said. “One could say that the eight teams who participated in the sweep incorporated the adage ‘Think Globally, but act locally.’”

 

The 60 individuals arrested in the sweep, which took place in mid-March, hail from the following countries: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Nicaragua, St. Vincent, Trinidad, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.