FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—April 14, 2014

State Attorney Phil Archer, Federal, and Local Partners

Celebrate Tenth Anniversary of “Operation Ceasefire”

            State Attorney Phil Archer will be celebrating the 10^th anniversary of a highly successful gun violence prevention program Tuesday, April 15, while saluting the law enforcement partners that make up the Operation Ceasefire Task Force. Local media are invited to attend the recognition on Tuesday at 9:15 a.m. at the State Attorney’s Office in Viera.

            The group has been responsible for hundreds of successful gun crime cases across the region for the past 10 years, said Brevard-Seminole State Attorney Phil Archer.

            Operation Ceasefire was initiated by the State Attorney’s Office in 2002 under the federal  Project Safe Neighborhoods program in order to bring together local, state, and federal law enforcement to target criminals that use firearms in their crimes. In 2004, under the leadership of ATF Agent Scott Perala, the Operation Ceasefire Task Force was created to expand the impact of Ceasefire and become more proactive in pursuing armed predators. This led to numerous successful undercover operations led by Agent Perala, one of which in 2012 put Perala in the direct line of fire. Perala was the ATF’s 2005 Medal of Valor recipient for another of the undercover Ceasefire operations.

            The task force has met weekly for the last 10 years to review every firearm related crime in Brevard County to determine whether to seek federal or state prosecution. As an example of this review, Archer cited the recent cases of Jason Carlyle and Jason Lydell Orr. Carlyle was sentenced to 22 years in state prison for firearms crimes that might have only netted him less than 10 years in federal court. Orr has been convicted and is pending sentencing in federal court on charges where sentencing guidelines show him exposed to 10 years in prison, but in state court he would only face three.

            “The task force meets to share information on gang members and problem offenders as well. It is this weekly sharing of information and resources that has been the true hallmark of success. By sharing information and working as partners, criminals are no longer able to exploit jurisdictional boundaries of the multiple enforcement agencies operating in Brevard County,” said State Attorney Archer.

            “There is no way to estimate the number of lives saved or crimes prevented through the actions of this group and this agent. We owe a tremendous debt to all of these officers, and our federal partnership with ATF. I salute them all,” Archer said.  

NOTE: Video of some of the undercover buys and arrests will be made available.