The Great Texas Warrant Round-Up
By: Jackie Smith
Updated: February 23, 2011
MIDLAND -- Odessa Police, Midland Police, and 200 other jurisdictions in the area are cracking down on people with outstanding warrants.
The Great Texas Warrant Round-Up begins in March, but police hope they can convince people to turn themselves in before they have to hunt them down.
You don't want to be in the back seat of a police cruiser come March. That's why police are asking people to deal with their warrants, before the round up begins.
"Were asking the defendants to come into the court and take care of their business," said Curtis Royalston, who is the Chief Warrant Officer of Midland
"Always a tremendous benefit for everyone involved to clear their warrants," said Dennis Jones, Odessa Municipal Judge.
During the round up, anyone with warrants could be arrested at anytime. If there's a warrant our for you, law enforcement could come to your home, or your work, and slap on the cuffs.
"We really don't want to go out and have to knock on doors and walk into a person's place of business and drag 'em out to court and jail," said Jones.
The warrant roundup targets thousands of defendants, covering all kinds of things from a wide variety of traffic tickets, to things like failing to sterilize a pet. They're minor offenses today. But they're about to become a major problem.
"Just as soon as they get that warrant notice they think,'Oh no! I'm going to jail,'" said Royalston. "Come into the court. They'll work with you and get the warrants cleared,"
Odessa Municipal Court is offering defendants a way to avoid the embarrassment of an arrest. Defendants could also save money, if they voluntarily deal with their case between February 28th and March 4th. During this time, a $50 warrant fee will be waived for each individual.
Jackie Smith can be reached via email at jsmith@kmid.tv.
The Great Texas Warrant Round-Up begins in March, but police hope they can convince people to turn themselves in before they have to hunt them down.
You don't want to be in the back seat of a police cruiser come March. That's why police are asking people to deal with their warrants, before the round up begins.
"Were asking the defendants to come into the court and take care of their business," said Curtis Royalston, who is the Chief Warrant Officer of Midland
"Always a tremendous benefit for everyone involved to clear their warrants," said Dennis Jones, Odessa Municipal Judge.
During the round up, anyone with warrants could be arrested at anytime. If there's a warrant our for you, law enforcement could come to your home, or your work, and slap on the cuffs.
"We really don't want to go out and have to knock on doors and walk into a person's place of business and drag 'em out to court and jail," said Jones.
The warrant roundup targets thousands of defendants, covering all kinds of things from a wide variety of traffic tickets, to things like failing to sterilize a pet. They're minor offenses today. But they're about to become a major problem.
"Just as soon as they get that warrant notice they think,'Oh no! I'm going to jail,'" said Royalston. "Come into the court. They'll work with you and get the warrants cleared,"
Odessa Municipal Court is offering defendants a way to avoid the embarrassment of an arrest. Defendants could also save money, if they voluntarily deal with their case between February 28th and March 4th. During this time, a $50 warrant fee will be waived for each individual.
Jackie Smith can be reached via email at jsmith@kmid.tv.
