The Great Texas Warrant Round-Up

EAST TEXAS - If you have an outstanding warrant or unpaid fine, now would be a good time to take care of it.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a warning Friday, Feb. 10 to individuals who have outstanding warrants. The sixth annual Great Texas Warrant Round-Up kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 25 and targets individuals across the state who have outstanding warrants for their arrest. These warrants are based upon a defendants’ failure to pay fines for traffic tickets and other misdemeanor crimes.

In his warning Abbott stated, “The Texas Attorney General’s Fugitive Unit will be among more than 260 law enforcement agencies across the state that will participate in this year’s Great Texas Warrant Round-Up. Before the Round-Up begins on Feb. 25, individuals who want to avoid being arrested for outstanding municipal or justice arrest warrants should contact local law enforcement.”

The AG’s press release further stated, “Many municipal and justice court officials have mailed notices to individuals who have outstanding warrants – encouraging them to pay their fines and resolve their cases before they are arrested by state and local authorities. Across Texas, thousands of outstanding warrants have been issued by municipal courts and justices of the peace for failing to pay their fines.”

Over the next two weeks, citizens who have an outstanding arrest warrant – or receive a notice in the mail – should contact their local police or sheriff’s departments for information about how to clear those warrants and avoid arrest.

On Feb. 25, law enforcement agencies statewide will begin locating and arresting individuals who are on the outstanding warrant list. Subjects who are arrested for outstanding warrants may be apprehended at any location, including the individual’s residence, school or workplace. The Texas Attorney General’s Fugitive Unit officers will work in conjunction with local task forces and law enforcement agencies around the state to assist officials with arrests.

Houston County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy G.P. Shearer said, “No one has contacted us yet about assisting them, but if they do, we will. If you do have an outstanding warrant, you can contact the AG’s office and find out what the status is.”

While Anderson County officials have not yet been contacted about the warrant roundup, the Palestine Police Department is participating. According to the Palestine Municipal Court Administrator Courtney Acklin, the city is owed nearly $1 million in unpaid fines.

“We are one of 276 entities within the state of Texas that are participating in the roundup,” she said. “Notices were sent out Friday, Feb. 10. They actually came from our collection agency, but we have our own personal notice that was signed by the City Marshal. The collection agency was able to provide skip tracing for us and we used that to our benefit this year. All the outstanding warrants that we do have, the defendants should be able to receive them at their current address.”

While being arrested is a possibility, Acklin said if a person tries to take care of their warrant before the deadline, they can avoid that.

“Our judge is here every Tuesday at 9 a.m. and it actually depends on the defendant’s situation,” she said. “If they take the initiative to try and resolve it, generally the judge will try and work with them. Often the judge will propose a payment plan and there will be some negotiation to see how much they can afford to pay without them getting into another dilemma.”

Acklin said the majority of the warrants are traffic fines and other Class C misdemeanors.

“We are only doing the warrants that came out of our court,” Acklin said. “There are other entities, like some JP (Justice of the Peace) courts that are participating, but we’re just handling those from our court. Last year is the first year that we participated in it (the roundup) since 2006. They will have until Feb. 24 to come in and resolve the warrants, but we have not released the date when actual arrests will begin, but they will begin shortly after that.”

She said so far the results of the notifications have been positive saying, “We are getting pretty good feedback from it. We are just trying to give the defendants a chance to come in because a lot of the time the thinking is that once it has gone to a warrant, it’s a lost cause.”

There are several different ways to resolve the issue according to Acklin.

“We accept all forms of payment except a check to resolve the situation. We can take cashier’s checks, money orders, cash or credit cards. They can also go online and make payment to take care of those warrants as well.” Online payments may be made at www.municipalonlinepayments.com/palestinetx/court/search.

Under Texas law, fines and fees for misdemeanors and other offenses fund the Texas Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund, which provides financial assistance to victims and their families who have no other means of financial support. The AG’s office can be reached at 512-463-2100.

Will Johnson may be reached via e-mail at wjohnson@messenger-news.com.