Agents Lyle Wilkes and Peter Morris honored with USMS Director’s Award

Agents Lyle Wilkes and Peter Morris honored with USMS Director’s Award

SERTF receives Distinguished Group Award

On October 18, at the United State Marshal Service’s (USMS) 36th Director's Honorary Awards Ceremony, Agent Lyle Wilkes, along with other members from the Southeast Regional Task Force (SERTF), received the Distinguished Group Award, for their exceptional service to the state of Georgia. Special Agent Peter Morris was also one of the SERTF members honored, but was unable to attend the ceremony.

The team was recognized for their role in an operation where one of their own, Chief Inspector Patrick Carothers, lost his life. The operation involved apprehending Dontrell Montese Carter, who was wanted by the Sumter County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina for multiple counts of Attempted Murder of Police Officers. Carter opened fire and mortally wounded Carothers. Both Wilkes and Morris, without hesitation, aided their team members in the rescue and treatment of Carothers.

The SERFTF became fully active in September of 2003 and operates out of offices in Atlanta, Savannah, and Macon, Georgia. The team is becoming well recognized as the "one-stop shop" for fugitive investigations in the state of Georgia.

The GDC has one of the largest prison systems in the U.S. and is responsible for supervising nearly 52,000 state prisoners. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 10,500 employees.

For more information on the GDC call 478-992-5248 or visit http://www.gdc.ga.gov.