According to Sheriff Jeff Shaver, Cherokee County deputies and investigators conducted Operation Vigilant Star 2 last week as part of a two-day operation. In 2016 Operation Vigilant Star was organized by Chief Investigator Josh Summerford and Investigator Michael Green in conjunction with the District Attorney’s Office, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and the United States Marshals’ Service. The purpose of Operation Vigilant Star was to conduct verification checks on registered sex offenders that reside in Cherokee County to ensure their compliance with the Sex Offender Notification Act (SORNA.)

Sheriff’s Office deputies, investigators, and the U.S. Marshals’ Service worked together to perform compliance checks on offenders registered with Cherokee County. The operation was a huge success and found that only 1 registered offender was not in compliance with SORNA.  That offender was arrested on Tuesday and booked into the Cherokee County Detention Center and charged with a SORNA violation. Sheriff Shaver said, “Enforcement efforts and more frequent verifications over the past few years have led to more compliance with SORNA. The first Operation Vigilant Star found resulted in several SORNA violation arrests and we are proud that we have been able to get the compliance to nearly 100%."

Sheriff Shaver commended the deputies and investigators involved for their efforts in the operation and expressed his appreciation to the U.S. Marshals’ Service and Marshal C.M. Keely for their support of the operation.