SAVANNAH, GA (September 12, 2012) Metro and federal officers and crime suppression units captured Savannah’s most wanted criminal today after an intensive search of the Cuyler-Brownsville area.
Travis Young, 19, considered the most dangerous of the dozen men identified by the Savannah Area Regional Gun Enforcement (SARGE) Task Force Aug. 23, was taken into custody in a search of a rooming house at West 38th and Bulloch streets about 5 p.m.
Young had been identified as the most dangerous of the suspects from the SARGE investigation by the joint effort of Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department and federal authorities that began in January.
They had charged him with armed robbery, aggravated assault, three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, and two counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a crime. But they were unable to locate him at the time of a massive sweep of the Cuyler-Brownsville area.
Violent Crimes investigators now are contemplating additional charges tied to various incidents since he was identified as a suspect Aug. 23.
SCMPD Central Precinct and SARGE officers and U.S. Marshals continued to search for Young until today when he crashed a stolen car.
A Central Precinct undercover officer spotted the Nissan which crashed near 38th and Bulloch as police converged on it about 3 p.m. Four males ran from the vehicle, leaving a weapon on the front seat. A 14-year-old occupant of the car was arrested after patrol officers captured him in a footrace and found another weapon in his possession.
Young ran into the yellow rooming house several doors from the collision and was found hiding under a bed in a locked room. He offered no resistance after coming face-to-face with SCMPD K-9 Officer Djieno.
Police Chief Willie Lovett, who had assembled the SARGE unit with the help of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, praised the effort to capture Young without injuries to others. “This is one of the most dangerous people we have had in Savannah and I applaud the efforts of so many officers,” he said.
Central Precinct Capt. DeVonn Adams called the effort a shining example of police work. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of our officers,” he said.
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