One of the “Most Wanted” gang members in the United States was captured in Arizona yesterday by U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) based on a viewer tip to the television show America’s Most Wanted.

Jurel Roberson, an alleged member of the Southside Park Family Gangster Bloods street gang, was wanted in Mesa, Ariz., for first degree murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a weapon by a prohibited person stemming from a drive-by shooting. 

According to court documents, on Nov. 7, 2007, three U.S. Army soldiers visited Tucson’s Club Envy while on leave from serving in Iraq.  At the club, one of the soldiers began speaking to a woman he met at the club.  The woman’s boyfriend, Roberson, was also in the club.  Several hours later, the three soldiers left the club to drive to a nearby restaurant.  Roberson is alleged to have driven up next to the soldiers’ car and opened fire.  Bullets peppered the soldiers’ car, killing one soldier and wounding another.  The third soldier was not injured.

On May 17, 2010, the USMS Tucson Office received a tip from America’s Most Wanted regarding Roberson.  The tipster provided information placing Roberson in the Phoenix area.  Based on this tip, the USMS developed additional information about Roberson’s whereabouts and on May 19, 2010, at approximately 1:00 p.m., Deputy U.S. Marshals conducted surveillance and observed a person matching the Roberson’s description.  A vehicle stop was initiated and Roberson was taken into custody following a brief struggle.

Launched in April 2009, the National Gang Targeting, Enforcement & Coordination Center (GangTECC) Most Wanted list included 12 fugitives determined to be the biggest priorities to find.  Roberson was one of the original 12 fugitives listed.  The apprehension of Roberson illustrates the successful collaborative efforts of various law enforcement agencies focused on arresting one of GangTECC’s Most Wanted.

GangTECC is a multi-agency center designed to serve as a critical catalyst in a unified federal effort to help disrupt and dismantle the most significant and violent gangs in the United States. The senior investigators at GangTECC come from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security.  These federal agents work in close collaboration with the Gang Unit prosecutors in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, and with the analysts and others at the National Gang Intelligence Center.