Four of Cincinnati's Most Wanted list were arraigned this morning in Hamilton County Municipal Court.

        Another suspect from the list released earlier this week was found in the morgue. The five arrests came from Cincinnati Police Division's first day of using a task force to fight violent crime.

        As violence in Cincinnati continues to escalate to staggering levels — 28 homicides this year and at least another 81 people shot since the April riots — police are ratcheting up patrols.

Task force officers stop a man Thursday on Race Street because he matched the description of one of the city's 42 Most Wanted. He wasn't, and was released. The officers are (from left) Mark Burns, Ryan Robertson, Tim Hains and Odayues Leonard. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        More uniformed officers in the new 70-member Violent Crimes Task Force are making their presence known in Over-the-Rhine. They're stepping up undercover drug buys. All the while, call-takers are fielding tips on the whereabouts of the 42 people listed on a Most Wanted list.

        Mayor Charlie Luken met with Police Chief Tom Streicher for about two hours Wednesday to discuss the task force and said he was pleased with the program so far.

        “My concern has been that police officers have not been proactive in dealing with crime because they have not felt like they had support in the community,” Mr. Luken said.

        “If this (task force) makes the police more proactive, I am all for it. The chief is enthusiastic about this and so am I.”

        Among the dozens of callers that rang into the Crime Stoppers office was a tipster who reported the whereabouts of Mari Saturday, a Clifton woman wanted for stealing a designer purse, blank checks and a credit card. She was arrested Wednesday morning.

        Vincent Birch of Over-the-Rhine, who was wanted on felony theft charges for taking clothes, appliances and other property, was picked up at a home in Northside.

        Another of the 42 has been dead since he overdosed Saturday. The Hamilton County Coroner's Office called police to report that Richard Wade Rue, 31, of East Price Hill, had been found unresponsive by his girlfriend after they'd been up all night, gone out for doughnuts and then fallen asleep. He was wanted for forging prescriptions for Oxycodone and Xanax.

MOST WANTED: FOUND

Cincinnati police Wednesday located these six people on its Most Wanted list:    • Chris Anderson of Over-the-Rhine. Arrest location not provided. Wanted for theft.    • Vincent Birch of Over-the-Rhine. Arrested in Northside. Wanted for theft.    • Vicki Carpenter of West End. Arrest location not provided. Wanted for theft.    • Amber Phelps of Over-the-Rhine. Arrest location not provided. Wanted for robbery.    • Richard Wade Rue of East Price Hill. Body located at coroner's office. Wanted for drugs, forgery.     • Mari Saturday of Clifton. Arrest location not provided. Wanted for theft.

        Police also nabbed Amber Phelps of Over-the-Rhine, who was wanted for robbery; Vicki Carpenter of the West End, who was wanted for theft; and Chris Anderson of Over-the-Rhine, who was also wanted for theft.

        Street officers also arrested at least three suspected prostitutes in Over-the-Rhine and charged another person with possession of crack, said Lt. Steve Wilger. The prostitution arrests came easy — the women approached the undercover officers and volunteered to have sex with them, he said.

        In more street activity, Officers Odayues Leonard and Tim Hains responded to a routine fight call about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday near Findlay Market. Eight officers in four cruisers rolled up at Elm and Elder streets.

        “This right here is what we're supposed to do: Just swarm it until they realize it's futile,” Officer Hains said.

        Officer Leonard said task force members expect people to test them to see how strong the presence is going to be.

        The task force also welcomed an additional member as Seth Tieger from the prosecutor's office joined the team. Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said the police chief asked that two prosecutors join.

        “We'll work hand-in-hand with the police division to move these (cases) through the system as quickly as possible,” he said. “I think it's a great idea.

        “In many ways it's kind of getting back to what we had before the riots, which was proactive policing.”

        Mr. Tieger is in charge of the riot prosecution task force, which took the position that plea bargaining would be allowed only in rare cases. The same now goes for those on the Most Wanted list.

        “We (the city) now have a national reputation for violence and lawlessness,” Mr. Allen said. “You have to take a strong position and people have to know this kind of conduct will not be tolerated.”

        Mr. Allen will decide who the second prosecutor to join the team will be in a few days.

        The list of people wanted on felonies was put together by investigators who suspect the people are involved in or have knowledge of crimes in addition to those for which they have outstanding warrants, Chief Streicher said. Police noticed many of the same faces started showing up as witnesses, suspects and victims in many of the crimes.

        “Nothing here is clear-cut,” he explained. “You have to work your way through a maze of almost underworld activity. The players are all interrelated. Because you're wanted for theft, it may be that it's related to street robbery, which has been the cause of a lot of these retaliatory shootings.

        “We have to reach out and grab at anything we can at this point.”

        An example: Tony Lee is wanted for trying to stash a gun in the trunk of a car. But he's also the victim in another case, a shooting in which police say Shamsud Pickens shot him. Mr. Pickens also is wanted for putting a gun to a man's head April 26 and stealing his wallet, police said.

        It's kind of like Al Capone, the chief said. The gangster was suspected in a lot of violence, but actually caught and jailed for tax evasion.

        “If our theory is right, we think we're going to see a reduction in the violence by bringing these people in,” he said. “If it's wrong, we get them in there and talk to them and find out what's going on.”

        In interviews Tuesday, Chief Streicher repeatedly asked the community to get involved in helping fight the violence by calling police with information.

        People did, ringing in to Crime Stoppers at 352-3040 “like crazy — the phone hasn't stopped,” said Sgt. Sylvia Ranaghan. “We have gotten so much information. At least 100 calls. At least.”

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