When Do the US Marshals Get Involved?
Every law enforcement agency has a specialty, and the US Marshals’ specialty is hunting fugitives. Local and state police often have too much on their plates and can’t dedicate the time or resources necessary to catching a particular criminal. In these situations, they turn to the Marshals.
In most areas, the Marshals lead a fugitive task force comprised of federal, state and local law enforcement. The fugitive task force of Camden is made up of officers from Winslow Township, Gloucester County, Camden City, NJ State Troopers, Department of Corrections officers and the Camden County Sheriff’s Office.
It was this task force that arrested Kevin Ambrose, 52, on July 26 at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, and charged him with the murder of Jennifer Bongco.
South Jersey residents were shaken at the end of July when it was reported that a pizza deliveryman had discovered a woman’s body on the side of the road.
The woman, later identified as 41-year-old Bongco, was found around 12:30 a.m. on July 25 by a man delivering a pizza to a home near Erial Road in Winslow Township. Bongco had been stabbed multiple times.
According to police reports and statements from Bongco’s children, Ambrose was the woman’s live-in boyfriend, and on the evening of July 25, he allegedly beat her to death in sight of Bongco’s five-year-old daughter. Ambrose was arraigned in Camden County Superior Court on a murder charge and related offenses.
The US Marshals and the fugitive task force handle cases all over South Jersey. In some situations, the task force gets involved after local detectives have pinpointed a suspect and issued a warrant for that suspect’s arrest. The fugitive task force then carries out the warrant. In other situations, local police may not have the resources to track down a suspect, and the US Marshals represent a dedicated force that can work the case to its conclusion.
If you are arrested by US Marshals or a fugitive task force, behave just as you would if local police arrested you. You are entitled to the same rights, and it will be helpful to remember them, and to call the offices of John W. Tumelty at 609.385.4010.
