PORT ARTHUR — Mark Blanton's crack down on gangs and gun violence promise has been solidified with the arrest and conviction of numerous criminals during his tenure as chief of police for the city of Port Arthur.

But sometimes criminals fell through the cracks in the justice system only to get out of jail and commit more crimes, some of which were even more violent that the previous incidents.

"My officers can arrest people all day long but unless those who are arrested are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, then the arrests are an exercise in futility," Blanton said.

Since 2005, Port Arthur has seen 26 murders committed with firearms. During the same period, more than one-third of the city’s 615 robberies were committed with firearms and overall citizen’s have reported more than 2, 500 shots fired, as stated by U.S. Attorney John Bales recently during a press conference in front of the police station.

“My officers are worn down by all of the hours they put in,” he said. “This is just another part of the system that needed to be fixed.”

The fix of the system was announced before a crowd of local and state law enforcement agents as well as local groups of citizens who volunteer their time keeping an eye on their neighborhoods.

The solution Blanton has been asking for is in the form of a new crime fighting tool called Operation Time Machine.

Time Machine pairs an assistant U.S. Attorney and a Jefferson County prosecutor cross designated as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, and embeds them with the Port Arthur Police Department. Together with the PAPD, these prosecutors with work closely with the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Agency; Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The partnership's goal is to reduce gun and drug related violent crime in the city.

PAPD Sgt. Kris Boneau, who is part of the department's Street Crimes UNit and acts as liaison for the city's neighborhood watch groups, said the new program is encouraging in that there is now more assistance from the federal level to combat violent crime in the city.

As the announcement of the new program was made, agents were already on the street making arrests.

Omar Damond Daw, 31, of Port Arthur, was areested on Oct. 7, by members of the PAPD and ATF. Daw was indicted Oct. 7 and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and felon in possession of amunition.

According to prosecutors, Daw has prior felony convictions for possession of a controleld substance in Jefferson County on April 13, 1998; possession of a controlled substance on Aug. 20, 2002; delivery of a controlled substance on Aug. 30, 2002; and possession of a controlled substance on March 15, 2007. As a convicted felon, Daw is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition. If convicted, Daw faces up to 10 years in federal prison, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

In a separate case, Juan Jose Ventura, 26, of Port Arthur, was arrested by members of the PAPD and ATF. Ventura was indicted by a federalk grand jury on Oct. 7 and charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and prohibited person in possession of ammunition.

According to prosecutors, Ventura has been convicted for a misdemeanor assault/family violence violation in Jefferson County on April 18, 2007. He also faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

Operation Time Machine is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program, which is an initiative to reduce gun and gang crime in America by networking existing local programs that target gun and gang crime and provides the programs with additional tools necessary to be successful.

As the new Time Machine information unfolded, Blanton looked back on an older crime reportedly committed by a convicted felon.

The male suspect, who Blanton did not name, was arrested and convicted for armed robbery and spent only 10 months in county jail before he was released. The man then committed another armed robbery, bonds out of jail, then becomes party to a multi-city kidnapping/armed robbery.

The crime spree began in the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 2007, when woman was kidnapped at gunpoint from her home in Groves.

The woman told police she was possibly followed home from Port Neches where she had stopped to get gas. As she was getting out of her car at home she was approached by a man with a revolver who demanded she drive him to an ATM where she was forced to withdraw $200 from her account.

The victim was then driven to Five Point Credit Union on Texas 73 and told to get out of the car and lie face down on the ground. The man reportedly stole the woman’s car which was later recovered in Port Acres.

Had the suspect been ordered to federal time in jail, he wouldn't have been released as soon as he was, he said.

A problem among criminals, Blanton said, is that once they are out of prison they (criminals) are revered by their friends.

"I hate to say it, but like hero-worship, like they’re bulletproof," he added.

Blanton gave an another example of how the system worked prior to the initiation of Operation Time Machine.

A man is convicted of a violent crime but elects to serve time in jail instead of probation. He gets out after serving a only portion of his sentence, then he’s back out on the streets.

With Operation Time Machine, the same person would be sentenced to federal time in prison, he said. If he’s sentenced to four years, he will serve four years. If sentenced to 20 years, he will serve 20 years, he added.

Time Machine Team

The Time Machine Prosecution Team includes Baylor Wortham and John Ross.

If Wortham's name sounds familiar to locals it is because he is the son of former U.S. Attorney Bob Wortham.

The younger Wortham is a Beaumont native and graduate of Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School. He attended Baylor University and received a Bachelor's in Business Administration as well as a Juris Doctor from Baylor Law School.

He is also a member of the Baylor Law Review. He has served as Assistant Criminal District Attorney for Tom Maness from April 2006 to September 2009 as a misdemeanor prosecutor and is now cross designated as Special Assistant United States Attorney.

Ross is also a Beaumont native and graduate of Kelly High School. He attended LSU and received a Bachelor of Arts in English and later attended Texas tech Law School and received a Juris Doctor. He is a member of the Texas Tech Law Review.

Ross served as an Assistant Criminal District Attorney for Tom Maness, both as a misdemeanor prosecutor from 1996 to 1999 and a felony prosecutor from 1999 to 2007.

Currently, Ross has been serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney since April 2007 and has been named coordinator for the Project Safe Neighborhoods program for the Eastern District of Texas.

mmeaux@panews.com