the crème de la crème of the Marshal Service , '' says Eugene O'Donnell , a former prosecutor and New York City police officer who now teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York . On any given day , Ergas and his force are tracking 10 to 15 suspected killers roaming the Southeast , while also searching for other violent offenders . Already this year , they have been involved in a number of high-profile searches : Gary Michael Hilton , the suspect charged in the killing of Meredith Emerson who disappeared while hiking in northern Georgia ; a fugitive Marine wanted in connection with the killing of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in North Carolina ; and suspects wanted in connection with the killings of two suburban Atlanta police officers . But most of the time they 're chasing suspects outside of the glare of the media spotlight . `` Our mandate is to track violent fugitives -- murderers , armed robbers , rapists and fugitives of that caliber , '' says Keith Booker , the commander of the task force . Watch Booker describe their mission '' One suspect currently being hunted is Charles
ATLANTA , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- They prefer the darkness and calm of early morning when their targets are most vulnerable , still sleeping or under the influence . They make sure their prey -- suspected killers and other violent fugitives -- know what they 're up against . U.S. Marshal supervisory inspector James Ergas takes aim during a computer-simulated attack . `` When they wake up to a submachine gun and flashlight in their face , they tend not to fight , '' says James Ergas , the supervisory inspector for the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force . The U.S. Marshals Service is the nation 's oldest law enforcement agency and best known for protecting federal judges , transporting federal prisoners and protecting witnesses . Less known is the cutting-edge work of the agency 's six regional task forces in capturing suspects . The task force in Atlanta is located in a nondescript warehouse office park . In 2007 , the investigators from the Southeast task force arrested more than 3,000 suspects ; only once did the Marshals exchange gunfire , Ergas says . Watch Ergas blast bad guys in simulated attack '' `` This is