Sheriff's Office Heads Up Large Warrant Operation: Over 20 Arrests Made

Edmonson Voice Staff Report:
A 14-hour warrant service operation has yielded over 2​0 arrests in Edmonson County, which was led by the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with Kentucky State Police, Brownsville Police Dept., the 6th District Constable, and the Edmonson County Jailer’s Office. The round-up began on Friday, January 19th and lasted into the next day.

Many of the arrests were recent indictments from the previous Grand Jury, while others arrested are facing unpaid fines, skipped court appearances, and bond violations.

The Sheriff's office said that 17 people were arrested on specific warrants during the period, on 22 individual cases. Charges varied from Attempted Murder and Assault 1st degree, various drug offenses like drug trafficking and possession, DUI, and others were for unpaid fines for traffic offenses.

Deputies spent the last few weeks searching the Commonwealth’s warrant system and identifying those wanted in Edmonson County. The Sheriff's Office then gathered info on the locations of those people through surveillance and confidential informants. Some of the warrants served were over two years old, and many did not have up-to-date addresses, according to the Sheriff.

​“While the sheriff’s office takes warrant service very seriously, due to the high volume of calls, they sometimes have to take a back seat,” said Sheriff Shane Doyle.

Sheriff Doyle said the purpose of large scale round-ups is so multiple people can be taken into custody in a short amount of time. He said this lessens the chance of word spreading among criminals which can allow them to go into hiding or change routines to avoid law enforcement. 

​“We made sure we had plenty of hands on deck, because operating in a safe manner while serving these warrants, some being high risk, is our number one priority. We don’t want any of the officers or the suspects getting hurt.”

During this operation, several people were charged with new criminal offenses. One man was charged with fleeing or evading police after leading officers on a short vehicle pursuit, while another man was charged with three counts of trafficking in controlled substance. In addition, three others were charged with possession of controlled substance.

The sheriffs office also said they wanted to thank all of the agencies who assisted during the operation, with a special thanks to Jailer Hank Vincent and his office. The deputy Jailers utilized the courthouse holding cells to monitor people in custody, while other Jailers transported groups of prisoners to Hart county jail. Without this, officers said they would not have been able to go back out looking for those that were wanted.

A statement from the Sheriff's Office said, "We encourage all citizens, if they have information on the whereabouts of wanted people or information involving criminal activity, to contact the Sheriff's Office. Your name will be kept anonymous."

All those that were arrested were transported and lodged in the Hart County Jail.