Main target located in roundup

The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Brandon Emerson, Arkansas Community Correction Special Response Team Southwest Arkansas team leader, left, greets Garland County Sheriff Mike McCormick and sheriff's Lt. Joel Ware shortly before a news conference Thursday afternoon where Emerson announced the arrest of six suspects as part of a warrant roundup this week.
The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Brandon Emerson, Arkansas Community Correction Special Response Team Southwest Arkansas team leader, left, greets Garland County Sheriff Mike McCormick and sheriff's Lt. Joel Ware shortly before a news conference Thursday afternoon where Emerson announced the arrest of six suspects as part of a warrant roundup this week.

A parole absconder arrested late Tuesday was so much the focus of a warrant roundup this week coordinated by the Arkansas Community Correction Special Response Team that they dubbed their effort Operation National Forrest, a play on the name of the suspect, Kenno Augusta Forrest.

Five other suspects wanted for probation or parole violations were arrested Wednesday as part of the operation, but Brandon Emerson, the response team's Southwest Arkansas team leader, stressed during a news conference on Thursday that Forrest, 33, who lists a Monticello address, was the main one they were after.

Noting the total of six arrests, Emerson said, "That number is actually misleading a little because (Forrest) is worth 10 or 15 normal targets."

Other agencies involved in this week's roundup included the Arkansas State Police and its aviation unit, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Mountain Pine marshal's office, Garland County Sheriff's Department and its Investigation Special Operations Unit, the Arkansas Department of Correction K-9 unit and Hot Springs police K-9 Unit Officer Brandon Jones.

Emerson said this week's operation, while similar, was separate from a warrant roundup last week coordinated by the 18th Judicial District East Drug Task Force, which involved many of the same agencies assisting.

"We tried to do the roundups at the same time but it didn't work out in terms of logistics and manpower so we held them a week apart," he said.

The other five suspects arrested, all of Hot Springs, were Jasen Evan McDaniel, 28, charged with a felony probation violation, contempt of court, child support and a warrant out of Prairie County; Drecarlos Trevon Anderson, 22, felony probation violation; Kristian Leigh Westbrook, 23, felony probation violation and two counts of failure to appear; Jeffrey Askew, 39, parole violation; and Christopher Brayden Riggan, 19, felony probation violation (theft of a firearm).

Emerson noted the others arrested were not connected or related to Forrest "in any way."

Emerson noted Forrest was the subject of a large-scale manhunt in January 2015 after he fired a handgun at a Fountain Lake school official and later rammed a sheriff's deputy's patrol vehicle during a pursuit "causing significant damage," which resulted in him being sentenced to prison for six years. He was later paroled.

He said they had started receiving information and "gathering intelligence" on Forrest about six months ago and had warrants for his arrest for various parole violations when a sheriff's deputy made contact with him last week in the 900 block of Highway 128.

Forrest fled on foot eluding capture and deputies found a sawed-off shotgun in his vehicle after he fled. "That amped up our efforts and made him the main priority of this roundup," Emerson said.

On Tuesday, around 7:30 a.m., multiple law enforcement officers attempted warrant service on Forrest at three different locations and made contact with him at a residence in the 900 block of Highway 128, but he eluded capture again. About 30 officers converged on the area and searched throughout the day and into the night.

Around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Forrest was located in a vehicle at Ault Loop and Highway 128 and apprehended.

Forrest has affiliations with the White Aryan movement which "has a high presence in Garland County" and they had developed information "he was in Garland County pretty much all the time," he said.

He said Forrest has "a very violent criminal history" with 34 prior felony convictions, including second-degree battery, residential burglary, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and multiple fleeing convictions.

"He will go to any lengths to attempt to elude law enforcement and that includes putting anyone's life in danger. He is definitely someone who needed to be locked up," he said.

Emerson stressed how much he appreciated the efforts of all the other agencies involved, noting, "These types of roundups would not be successful without everyone's participation. The K-9s and eyes in the sky are essential when you have someone on the ground in a wooded area like that."

He said Arkansas Community Correction has teams throughout the state and will continue to do roundups. "We did two this year so far and we have one coming up. We will be back in Garland County and will have one fairly soon."

He said the roundups send a message to the community "that we're not going to tolerate criminal behavior and people risking the lives of our citizens."

Local on 04/27/2018

Upcoming Events