Fugitives rounded up after overnight raid in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A citywide raid that landed more than a dozen wanted fugitives in police custody overnight.
Law enforcement fanned out across Philadelphia, rounding up 17 people as part of Operation Night Sweep.
"Today is a good day for the City of Philadelphia," said Sheriff Jewell Williams.
Officials say some of the suspects tried to avoid capture by unscrewing lightbulbs to create darkness or attempted to hide.
Philadelphia enlisted help from law enforcement from Bucks, Chester, and Delaware counties, as well as state and city police.
Sheriff Williams said his office is out serving warrants every day, but a concentrated effort like this helps chip away at the massive backlog of cases.
The charges against the alleged fugitives include robbery, gun violations, drug offenses and aggravated assault.
Some were arrested for civil matters, such as delinquent child support. This raid could potentially net more than $168,000 in outstanding child support, right in time for the school year.
"We know the school year starts on Monday in the city of Philadelphia, and we want to see these parents get some of that money that they deserve to have for child support and custody matters," said Williams.
There are many more wanted, the sheriff says. Often people turn themselves in after seeing the news of one of these sweeps to avoid the embarrassment of being caught up in the next one.
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