By Aaron Burgin, The Porterville Recorder
A slew of Porterville police officers - including the chief of police - under the direction of two U.S. Marshals swarmed a West side street in search of a federal fugitive Thursday afternoon.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Darrin Lambert confirmed that officers were searching for Rene Felix, a member of a major drug-trafficking network that bears the Felix family's surname.

He is the younger brother of Jose Felix, 35, who escaped a minimum-security federal prison near Bakersfield in October, Lambert said. Police arrested one man, whose name was not released prior to publication, before leaving the residential street as quickly as they converged on it.

“We are looking for Rene,” Lambert said after more than a dozen Porterville police officers left the 1900 block of Thurman Avenue with the man in custody. “That is all I can say at this time.” Police Chief Chuck McMillan said that virtually every officer on duty at the time - including several plain-clothed detectives - was called to the scene to sweep the area for Rene Felix. With weapons drawn, the marshals directed traffic away from Walch Street as officers conducted the search.

Law enforcement then targeted a house on Thurman and initially held three Hispanic men before releasing two of them. Lambert admonished each of the men to call him if they contacted Felix. Failure to do so, Lambert told them, would result in them being prosecuted for harboring a federal fugitive - a federal offense.

While police were unavailable for comment, McMillan told Lambert that police received a 911 call that alerted them to the area. People in the area said they believe that illegal activity is occurring at the residence. The family that was the focus of the search has lived there since 2005, people said.

The Felix organization was a well-organized methamphetamine trafficking network that stretched from the Valley to Tijuana, Mexico, and became the focus of a multi-agency investigation in 1997, according to previous reports. The network was suspected of distributing $1 million of methamphetamine since its genesis, law enforcement officials said.

In April 2003, an FBI-led task force concluded the investigation with “Operation Tombstone,” which led to the arrest and indictment of 15 people linked to the drug cartel. Nabbed in the bust was Praxedes Felix Sr., Rene Felix's father and the leader of the sophisticated network.

It was not known prior to publication what charges Rene Felix faces, as officers were unavailable for comment.

Contact Aaron Burgin at 784-5000, Ext. 1047, or aburgin@portervillerecorder.com.

This story was published in The Porterville Recorder on March 30, 2007