Award to 10’s Most Wanted

As much as U.S. Marshal Wayne Pike wanted to thank WSLS for the 10’s Most Wanted segment, I would like to thank him, and Ron Donelson, Greg Burnette, Matt Davis and the rest of the hard working people at the United States Marshals office.

It was awfully nice of Marshal Pike to have me come over today (Tuesday, November 18) and present a plaque that reads,“ In recognition of your outstanding support of professional law enforcement and dedicated public service to the citizens of the Roanoke Valley and beyond.“  He also gave me a coffee cup, a t-shirt and a lapel pin in the shape of a U.S. Marshals badge.

I’ll proudly hang the plaque on the wall, I’ll drink from the cup and work out in the t-shirt—but I’ll never deserve to wear that badge.

Before we began the Most Wanted series about a year ago, I didn’t know a whole lot about the U.S. Marshals.  But as we have profiled various bad guys on Wednesdays at 6 p.m., I—and hopefully you—have learned that these guys are high-tech criminal chasers and they usually get their man.

On countless occasions I would be waiting patiently for the information on the suspect for a given week—only to find out at the last minute they had already caught him.  (Occasionally it’s a “her”.)

One morning I was tired as we set up our camera and lights in the conference room at the Poff Federal Building.  As I was about to talk about what a long day I was facing, the deputy I was interviewing told me what he had been doing the night before.

“We were out in the woods doing surveillance on this cabin,“ he told me.  “It was cold, and we were on the ground waiting to see if the suspect was home.“  He went on to tell me how this suspect was in fact home, and how he and the rest of the deputies coordinated their efforts, and after hours of waiting for the right moment, storming the building with guns drawn, and arresting the man who had a violent background without incident and without him having any idea they were lurking in the woods surrounding is home.

Not only was it the stuff of a Tom Clancy novel, but here he was talking to me about a different suspect at 9 or 10 the next morning.

This is routine stuff for these people.  They are fit as athletes and they use technology in ways you can’t imagine—and it leads them to suspects on the run.

So, to Marshal Pike and all the deputies, I say thanks for the recognition—and thanks even more for what you do.