TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The two remaining suspects still on the run following an operation targeting sexual predators have been arrested in Franklin County.
- Two suspects, Spencer Bryce Leeper and Willard Lawrence Gibson, arrested in Operation Summer Hurricane.
- The operation aimed at targeting sexual predators in Franklin County led to the arrest of six people already.
- Collaboration involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including FDLE and Homeland Security.
- Watch the Video above to see more about these arrests.
UPDATED BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Last week we told you about Operation Summer Hurricane, the multi-agency sting to catch sexual predators targeting children. Now, final arrests have been made.
"If you're gonna commit these kind of crimes, know that no matter where you are, we're coming to get you. We don't care where you are," said A.J. Smith, Franklin County Sheriff.
I talked with the sheriff about these final arrests and it's effect on rural neighborhoods.
Operation Summer Hurricane was a three-day sting operation that 11 law enforcement agencies partnered in to catch predators talking to kids online. From this operation, they found 8 men who were trying to engage in sexual conversations with children.
At the time of the August 28th press conference, only six were caught, and the other two were still on the loose.
Spencer Bryce Leeper and Willard Lawrence Gibson were arrested over the holiday weekend. Leeper was caught in Pensacola about to board a plane out of state and Gibson was caught in his home state of Washington.
The sheriff said that Gibson has quite an extensive criminal record that includes other sex crimes.
Officials at the conference said that predators are targeting smaller counties because the offices are smaller. However, this operation shows that kids, no matter where they are, are not easy to get.
"But I guess they forget about that. We do have partnerships with FDLE, homeland security, other agencies in our area, Bay County, Leon County, Tallahassee police, folks like that that do have the expertise," said Smith. "But I think as a result of ours, that there's other counties similar to mine that wanna do it, because there's over 2,000 counties in the United States of America, and a lot of them are like Franklin County, they're small."
While this operation has wrapped up, Sheriff Smith says they'll conduct other operations like this in the future.
CLICK HERE to view our original story on this operation.
ORIGINAL:
Last month, multiple law enforcement agencies announced the initiative to stop internet sexual predators who are targeting rural communities.
Officials said at the conference that they don't target predators, but predators make themselves a target by engaging with kids.
The three-day operation took place in July.
Franklin County Sheriff, AJ Smith called the operation a first of its kind in Franklin County.
Officials say this will be the first of many operations in rural areas to protect kids.
Arrests
Spencer Bryce Leeper
Willard Lawrence Gibson
Colbey G. Adams, 30
Jarvis Arteza Baker Jr, 22
William Jared Breski, 37
Jose De Jesus Salazar Gomez, 25
Joshua Heath Lolley, 36
Christopher Edward Nabors, 32
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