U.S. MARSHALS CAPTURE CALIFORNIA MURDER SUSPECT

PHOENIX, AZ – This morning Deputy U.S. Marshals and Task Force Officers from the Phoenix based Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force arrested James Talley, 39, at a residence in the area of 48th St. and McDowell in Phoenix. James Talley was wanted by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office in Eureka, CA for his alleged involvement in a violent murder that occurred in December 2009.

It is alleged that on December 13, 2009, Talley bludgeoned to death and sodomized a homeless man in Humboldt County California. Shortly after the murder it is believed that Talley fled the Humboldt County area. Recently, Deputy U.S. Marshals from the Northern District of California, Eureka office and Detectives from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office developed information that Talley fled to the Phoenix metro area. Acting on this information Deputy U.S. Marshals and Task Force Officers from the Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force were able to locate and arrest Talley without incident.

United States Marshal David Gonzales praised the work of Deputies and law enforcement officers adding, “The level of interagency cooperation exhibited during this fugitive investigation was second to none. This resulted in the capture of a violent suspected murderer making the Valley a safer place.”

The full-time federal, state, and local agencies that comprise the Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force include: U.S. Marshals Service; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Arizona Department of Public Safety; Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office; Maricopa County Adult Probation; Chandler Police Department; Mesa Police Department; Tempe Police Department; and several part-time state and local law enforcement agencies.

The U.S. Marshals Service is the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency. Annually, U.S. Marshals arrest more than 50 percent of all federal fugitives and serve more federal warrants than all other federal agencies combined. For more information on other USMS 15 Most Wanted fugitives and USMS Major Cases, go to http://www.usmarshals.gov/.