Fresno County checks on ‘high-risk’ offenders on probation. Arrests, gun seizures follow
Fresno County officers on Saturday conducted what they said would be the first of multiple sweeps targeting people on probation considered to be of “higher risk,” leading to 12 felony arrests and the seizure of an assault rifle and two other guns.
Day 1 of “Operation Safe Streets” focused on the Fresno area, with warrants served, searches made for guns/weapons and investigations conducted into possible Employment Development Department fraud.
Some 120 law-enforcement personnel were involved, including deputy probation and Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium officers. The sweep began at 6 a.m. Saturday and continued until 4 p.m.
“The goal is to promote positive interaction with the community and a proactive approach to the recent spike in crime impacting the County of Fresno,” stated a release issued ahead of the operation by the Fresno County Probation Department.
There were 192 “total targets identified,” with 115 of them completed.
Eighty residences were confirmed, leading to 66 probation searches and the 12 felony arrests. A list of the charges alleged was not provided in a post-sweep summary, nor was the definition of what constitutes a high-risk target.
Twenty of the homes that had been listed for the targets were found to be invalid; another 15 residences could not be verified.
The weapons recovered included the assault rifle and two handguns.
Operation Safe Streets is expected to continue to target all geographical sections of the county, both within cities and in rural, unincorporated areas, on multiple dates.
