WPD builds a new CAGE

Continued from page 1 arrests in 2022, including 34 fugitives suspected of being involved in violent crimes and 21 arrests of probationers and parolees. In those arrests, the team seized 12 firearms. Since the unit is relatively new, comparable statistics are not available. As a result, Esqueda’s network is setting its own bar, and setting it high.

“We had 11 or 12 arrests in January,” he said. “They’re just rolling and finding lots of success, catching bad guys and reducing crime,” Equeda said. Since joining the WPD, Esqueda has worked numerous positions, but from the outset, he said, “I always dreamed of investigating gang crime.” Now he is up close and per-