Federal authorities have named a Washington-area street criminal as one of the nation’s 12 Most Wanted gang members, and marshals are asking the public’s help to get him off the streets and into a cell.
Police said Omar Garris, a member of the violent “1-7 Crew,” shot at three people whom he mistook for his real targets. He remains a threat to residents, police said.
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“There’s a real sense of urgency to put him behind bars,” said Nikki Credic, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Marshals.
The U.S. Marshals’ gang unit, the National Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center, has placed Garris on its newly released list of its 12 most wanted, a tool designed to help local law enforcement agencies around the country.
Garris, known on the streets as “O,” made the marshals’ cut for his propensity for violence. He is believed to still be in the D.C. metro area, and police say he should be considered armed and dangerous.
On the early morning of June 15, 2007, a white Cadillac rode up on three friends who were hanging out in the 7000 block of Kent Town Drive in Landover.
Prince George’s County police said Garris opened fire, wounding a man and a woman. A third woman escaped uninjured.
One of the women recognized Garris as a friend from the neighborhood, and detectives believe Garris mistakenly thought the victims were connected to the shooting death of his brother two months earlier.
An arrest warrant was issued for Garris on charges of two counts of attempted murder. Police said he has already done time for violating parole on assault and gun charges in D.C. and Maryland.
Cops say Garris is a longtime member of the “1-7 Crew,” a street gang primarily operating in the Washington and Baltimore areas. Authorities believe Garris is hiding out in the D.C. area with the help of his family.
Garris is listed as 5 feet 6 inches and 144 pounds. He uses two aliases: Kenneth Lorenzo Smith and Ulysses White.
Anyone with information on Garris’ whereabouts can call the U.S. Marshals Service at 301-489-1717 or 800-336-0102. Law enforcement authorities are offering a reward for information leading to Garris’ arrest.
