The U.S. Marshals-led Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force has surpassed 60,000 arrests, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio Pete Elliott has announced.

Members of the Cleveland NOVFTF last month arrested David W. Garner, 40, in an East Cleveland murder case. It marked the 60,000th arrest for the task force, Elllott said.

While a fugitive, Garner evaded law enforcement multiple times, according to a news release. However, on March 24, Garner was located and arrested during a traffic stop in University Heights.

Since the inception of the NOVFTF in June 2003, it has made arrests of more than 2,400 homicide suspects throughout NortheastOhio and across the country. This is because of the reach of the U.S. Marshals Service and partnerships across the country with the state and local police departments, the release states.

Among them was the arrest of Andre McCoy Jr. in the Sept. 21, 2020, shooting death of 4-year-old Rowan Sweeney in Struthers.

Task force members in Youngstown located McCoy in a home in the city in January 2023. The task force had been looking for him for two years.

McCoy was later sentenced to life in prison.

In addition to homicide arrests, the task force has arrested more than 2,500 people wanted for rape, more than 4,800 wanted for robberies and another 9,700 wanted for felonious assault, the release states.

While working fugitive cases, the task force often encounters fugitives who, while on the run, continue to carry firearms. Over the past 23 years the task force has seized more than 2,900 guns. Additionally, more than $4.5 million in U.S. currency has been seized.

In June 2003, the task force was created in memory of Cleveland Police Patrolman Wayne Leon, who was killed in the line of duty by a fugitive on the run. His memory lives on through the men and women assigned to the task force throughout Northern Ohio, the release states.

Since the inception, the task force has grown from a couple teams across the northern district of Ohio to nine fugitive investigation / apprehension teams, a missing child unit, cold case unit, sex offender investigations and a full-time training instructor.

“Although the success of this task force is often measured in the number of arrests made each day, it is also measured in the partnerships that have been built and sustained over the last 22 years,” Elliott stated.

The task force has divisions in Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Lorain, Mansfield, Painesville, Toledo and Youngstown.

Anyone with information concerning a wanted fugitive can contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-492-6833 or they can submit a web tip. Reward money is available and tipsters may remain anonymous. Follow the U.S. Marshals on Twitter @USMSCleveland.