Sheriff's Valentine Day sting nets 15 arrests in county

After inking his signature, he learned the truth: The driver was Lt. Jennifer Gilbert-Duran with the county Sheriff's Office, and he was under arrest on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court on a traffic charge. Gilbert-Duran should have looked familiar to Bryant.

She knocked on his front door in the 300 block of Klagg Court on Valentine's Day in 2008, that time in the guise of a florist with a basket of goodies from a secret someone. He was arrested that time, too, after the lieutenant revealed her true identity.

"He was like, 'Man, you guys got me last time on that flower thing,' " Gilbert-Duran said with a chuckle yesterday afternoon.

Bryant, 37, was one of 15 men and women nabbed throughout the county yesterday in a Valentine's Day sting led by Sheriff Ronald S. Bateman. Thirty-five more scofflaws were taken into custody in a sweep that took place early yesterday morning, before the sting.

A total of 53 outstanding warrants - from traffic offenses to peeping Tom cases - were cleared throughout the day, said Deputy Sheriff Harry L. Neisser, a county Sheriff's Office spokesman. Yesterday's operation was reminiscent of a Valentine's Day sting Bateman carried out two years ago, in which deputies disguised as florists picked up wanted men and women who thought they were getting flowers and gift baskets from admirers.

This time, instead of delivering flowers, Bateman's crew posed as drivers for a candy company.

On Thursday, Sgt. Tonya Pfaltzgraff of the county Sheriff's Office called hundreds of wanted men and women while pretending to be "Gretchen," a representative from the fictitious company "Keystone Candigrams."

The idea for the company name came from a picture of Bateman's great-grandfather William J. Bateman, a Baltimore City police officer in 1907.

Pfaltzgraff told each person she reached that a box of chocolates was being delivered to them on Valentine's Day and she needed to confirm a time for delivery. Twenty-four of those Pfaltzgraff spoke to confirmed times they would be home to sign for the gift.

To better legitimize the company, Pfaltzgraff gave the wanted men and women a Web site, KeystoneCandigrams.com, to visit for more information. The Web site, created for the sting, features a slide show of delicious chocolates along with the company slogan, "Just one bite and you're hooked!"

Testimonials were also included on the site: "My husband took me to a romantic bed and breakfast in Annapolis. Keystone delivered my candigram directly to the wonderful bed and breakfast. - Tonya," stated one.

Visitors could also confirm a time for delivery on the Web site, Bateman said. The sheriff said he had to really sell the legitimacy of the company this year. He'd taken a year off between Valentine's Day stings to give people time to forget, but knew some might remember news stories about the 2008 operation.

During confirmation calls, Pfaltzgraff spoke to a wanted man's mother, who remembered the last sting. "The woman asked, 'Is this the Sheriff's Office?' " Neisser said. "She said she already turned her son in."

Taking a chance

Timothy Lawn, 24, of the 200 block of Fox Manor Drive in Glen Burnie, was suspicious. But he took a chance anyway. After deputies had knocked on his door at noon with no answer, they got a call from Lawn. He said he didn't hear the doorbell and asked if they'd return. Deputies gladly agreed.

About 2:15 p.m., Deputy Paul Della and Gilbert-Duran pulled in front of Lawn's townhouse in a blue Ford Expedition sport utility vehicle with yellow magnets displaying the Keystone Candigram logo - a 1907 photo of Bateman's great-grandfather wearing a period police hat.

Gilbert-Duran knocked and waited.

After a few minutes, Lawn came to the door.

Gilbert-Duran held out a white gift box, which also featured the Keystone Candigram logo and slogan. Lawn signed the delivery form, handed the "delivery driver" her pen back and was told he was under arrest for failure to appear in court on a traffic citation.

Gilbert-Duran said Lawn told her he was suspicious all along, but took a chance.

"He said he just felt it - he knew something was going on," she said.

A waiting deputy pulled into the parking lot and loaded Lawn into his car. Like others arrested yesterday, Lawn was taken to a van nearby and eventually to the commissioner's office.

Don't merit amnesty

When asked if he thought it was cruel to arrest someone on Valentine's Day, Bateman shrugged and said, "Nope."

"Criminals don't deserve amnesty on Valentine's Day or any other day," he said. "After all, victims never get a break, do they?"

Yesterday's sting showed how difficult it can be to serve warrants in Anne Arundel County, Bateman said. Even though deputies had confirmed 24 deliveries, only 15 people answered their door.

The operation was a part of Bateman's plan to eliminate the more than 12,000 unserved warrants he inherited when he was elected in November 2006 - and the thousands he's received since. Bateman is up for re-election this year. He said he has chiseled the county's 13,584 unserved warrants down to 8,622 - a 37 percent reduction.

The sting was just one of several creative ways Bateman has tackled backlogged warrants.

In January 2009, the Sheriff's Office made a dent with "Operation Rope A Dope," a boxing-themed sweep that resulted in the arrest of 28 men and women. And in October 2007, more than 40 men and women were served outstanding warrants when they went to collect a check they thought they'd be receiving for "overpaying their taxes."

Bateman said he was approached by the police department of Fairfax County, Va. He said that department sent representatives to meet with the county Sheriff's Office to learn how to put on similar stings.