COLUMBUS – Columbus police made nearly 100 arrests and confiscated drugs, guns and cash during the fifth “Operation Unity,” a coordinated crackdown on violent crime in targeted neighborhoods.
During a 21-hour stretch between early Wednesday and early Thursday, law enforcement and social service agencies collaborated to respond to violent crime in Franklinton and the Hilltop, Columbus Division of Police Chief Elaine Bryant said.
Patrol officers, criminal intelligence units, major crimes detectives, SWAT, drug crimes units, traffic operations units, and other local and state authorities served felony warrants and initiated targeted enforcement aimed at arresting violent offenders, recovering firearms, and confiscating illegal drugs, Bryan said.
Carried out between 6:00 a.m. Wednesday and 3:00 a.m. Thursday, the operation resulted in 92 arrests, 30 of them on felony charges; seizure cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine worth an estimated $200,750; and confiscation of eight illegal firearms, Bryant said.
The Columbus police worked with the Columbus City Attorney’s Office, Code Enforcement office, Columbus Public Health, the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team and other agencies.
Murder suspect arrested
Columbus police have arrested a suspect in connection with the death of a 25-year-old woman in the Northland area earlier this month.
Joseph Mendoza was charged with murder in the death of Mirracclle Morris at an address in the 2100 block of Parkville Court on Aug. 10, Sgt. David Shimberg of the Homicide Unit said.
Mendoza, 37, was without incident on Thursday.
Suspect sought in double shooting
Police are looking for a man in connection with a shooting on the Northeast Side in May that left one person dead and another critically injured.
Investigators have identified Paul Harris III as a suspect in the incident and have issued a warrant for his arrest, Sgt. Edward Powell III of the Homicide Unit said.
Harris, 21, has been accused of shooting 32-year-old Trey Glover to death in the 700 block of Gibbard Avenue on May 29.
Glover was found a few houses away from an address where another person was shot and critically injured.