The News Room [News Archive]

Sheriff Contact: John Roach: 313-224-0615
Release Date: Friday, March 14, 2003

Sheriff Evans leads "Operation LAST CALL" to take deadbeat drunk drivers off local streets
Multi-agency effort targets repeat offenders who don't show for court

One hundred police officers from the Wayne County Sheriff Office, Michigan State Police, Livonia Police Department and a dozen other local law enforcement agencies have fanned out across metro Detroit this week to round up the area's most dangerous "Deadbeat Drunk Drivers."

Wayne County Sheriff Warren C. Evans said that "Operation LAST CALL" has targeted many of the thousands of offenders at large who have been charged with, or convicted of, drinking and driving offenses but who have failed to show in court or violated their probation. The effort has been timed with St. Patrick's Day weekend, one of the year's worst for drinking and driving.

The message Sheriff Evans and the other involved agencies have for celebrants is clear.

"If you drink and drive, we're eventually going to catch you," Evans said. "And if you fail to appear in court to face your charges, we'll find you again, but this time we'll have a warrant in our hand."

According to Wayne County's 3rd Circuit Court and Prosecutor records, there are more than 6,000 offenders currently at large for a variety of drinking & driving offense, including: OUIL Third Offense; OUIL Serious Injury and OUIL Manslaughter.

"We consider the individuals we are arresting this week ticking time bombs, and they need to be taken off the streets," said Livonia Police Chief Peter Kunst. "By working collectively, our agencies are being far more effective than if we had tried to accomplish the same thing individually."

Operation LAST CALL officers, working from their command post at the Livonia Police Department, have arrested 56 people wanted on a variety of charges during the first two days of the sweep. Although the number represents a small percentage of those at large, Evans said that the impact is greater when considering the potential toll of leaving these people on the street.

"The odds are very good that one of these individuals eventually would have gone on to kill or injure somebody. If we have save one tragedy from occurring, then the effort has been worth it," Evans said.

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Joining in the sweep are:

Evans said he plans to make drunken driving fugitive enforcement an ongoing part of the Sheriff Office because it will help keep violators – and the justice system – accountable.

"Many offenders have come to believe that if they just don't show for court, that we'll lose track of them," Evans said. "If we don't come and get them, they will feel empowered to continue to drink and drive."

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