Texas Warrant Round-Up to start arresting ticket holders

If you’ve skipped paying that speeding ticket that you stuffed in your glove box, you could soon find yourself wearing a pair of handcuffs when the Texas Warrant Round-Up begins next Saturday, February 25.

Donley County Justices of the Peace and more than 200 other jurisdictions and law enforcement agencies across the state will be participating in the round-up, and officials say it’s best to pay your fine now before it starts.

“It’s better to come in voluntarily than to be embarrassed by getting arrested in front of your friends or family,” said Precinct 1&2 Justice Connie Havens.

Local justice courts handed numerous open cases over to a collection agency in Amarillo, which has sent letters out to those individuals. Havens says her office has “drawers and drawers” of cases – mostly traffic tickets – and that some of them have been open for five years or more.

“When you get a ticket, your signature is not an admission of guilt, but it is a promise to appear in court,” Havens said. “Any time you fail to appear or take care of that ticket, we can issue a warrant.”

The courts have already put a hold on the driver’s licenses of the offenders in question, and if they don’t pay up before February 25, warrants will be issued and the offenders will be arrested.

Precinct 3&4 Justice Denise Bertrand said Donley County has had good results from participating in the Texas Warrant Round-Up before.

“It was very successful last year,” Bertrand said. “I consider it a success when they pay their fine, and we don’t have to put out a warrant or put them in jail.”

As collection agents letters show up in mailboxes and word gets out about the round-up, local courts are already seeing an influx of people paying their fines. Bertrand had three people contact her office Monday to make payment arrangements, and Havens had four people pay their fines before 9 a.m. Tuesday morning and says more will be coming.

“I left the office at 5 o’clock Monday; and when I came in [Tuesday] had had 16 missed calls and two messages,” Havens said.

The treasury stands to benefit from the round-up, but Havens said for her it’s not about the money.

“I like it because it clears out a lot of cases,” she said. “You just get tired of dealing with them. Those that came in Tuesday were from 2004, 2008, 2005, and 2011. They are old cases.”

Havens said the round-up works because people move and local courts can’t track them down, but a collection agent can.

“We found out five cases where people are actually incarcerated on other charges,” she said.

If someone is unable to pay their fine, the justices still say it’s better to contact their offices before warrants go out next Saturday.

“Community service is an option if they can prove they can pay their fine,” Bertrand said.