October 14, 09

NEWS / Port Angeles Fugitive Captured at Canadian Border

Blaine, Wash. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers apprehended a Port Angeles, Wash., woman on October 7 who was wanted by the Washington State Department of Corrections on a warrant for escape from community custody in Port Angeles, Wash.


Officers arrested Jessica Young, 23, upon her arrival to the United States at the Peace Arch port of entry. During her initial inspection by a CBP officer, Young exhibited signs of nervousness and was unable to produce proper identification as mandated by the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.


Due to the officer’s suspicions and the uncertainty created by her lacking satisfactory identification, Young’s ten fingerprints were electronically recorded and digitally compared in the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. IAFIS is a computerized communication data base designed to share fingerprint information among federal law enforcement agencies. Once her identity was established further queries resulted in the discovery of the felony warrant in the National Criminal Information Center data base.


“The increase in available technology to assist our officers in the performance of their mission is also helping to keep local communities safer,” said Assistant Port Director Deborah Engels. “Apprehending fugitives who have fled from justice is an important element of our daily border security efforts.”


After verification of the warrant for arrest with the Department of Corrections, Young was immediately taken into custody by CBP officers and she was turned over to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office for extradition back into state custody.


NCIC and is a centralized automated data base designed to share information among law enforcement agencies. These warrants are for a wide range of offenses and include money laundering, robbery, narcotics distribution, sexual abuse of children, violation of protection orders, fraud, failure to appear, larceny and military desertion.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/10122009.xml