Pct. 4 Constable Rowdy Hayden, assisted by the Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace’s Office, headed up a surprise warrant roundup Tuesday evening that included 45 deputies representing all five Montgomery County Constables and the Sheriff’s Office, and nabbed 79 fugitives, clearing hundreds of warrants. Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace James Metts was also on hand and provided clerks to assist in the preparations and to handle payment processing during the roundup.
The event was held in conjunction with District Attorney Brett Ligon’s current amnesty program, which offers those with outstanding misdemeanor warrants an opportunity to clear them by paying what usually amounts to a fraction of the amount owed.
According to the terms of the widely publicized amnesty program, most outstanding misdemeanor warrants can be cleared for $199 for the original charge and dismissal of costly subsequent related charges such as “Violate Promise to Appear” and “Fail to Appear.”
The District Attorney’s Office notified those with outstanding warrants of the amnesty program by mail, and many have chosen to take advantage of the opportunity, but some waited a little too long.
Of the 79 detained, only 14 were booked into the Montgomery County Jail. The remainder were able to pay the reduced fees offered by the amnesty program and were released with their warrants cleared. Additional warrants were cleared for people who were not even on the targeted list but heard about the roundup and went to the Constable’s Office Tuesday evening to make payments. On Wednesday, people who heard about the roundup continued to pour into Judge Metts’ Office and pay their fines.
Constable Hayden, Judge Metts and Mr. Ligon were very pleased with the outcome of the event.
“Our last roundup was successful, but there was room for improvement, so we made a few changes in the process this year,” Constable Hayden said. “This roundup was done on a much larger scale and it still went very smoothly, and I feel we got a lot accomplished.”
Judge Metts said he was happy to provide assistance and he too considered the event a success.
“The majority of those detained were still able to take advantage of the amnesty program and go back home the same night, having paid far less than they would’ve otherwise owed,” Judge Metts said. “That worked out for them because they saved a lot of money and no longer have to worry about being arrested, and it was beneficial for us because we were able to clear their warrants.”
Four people were arrested on other charges during the roundup which included two arrests for Driving While License Invalid; one for Evading Arrest / Detention; and one for Possession of a Controlled Substance. The two arrested for Driving While License Invalid were not on the list and the other two added to their troubles with one attempting to flee on foot and the other in possession of narcotics when arrested. For those infractions, there were no deals.
Constable Hayden cautions those who still have outstanding warrants that the amnesty program will end and the next time they find themselves in custody, there will not be any deals.
The deputies were able to go to 500 different homes looking for people with active JP 4 warrants.
During this time 95 people were brought in.
75 people were able to pay a fine or post bail.
6 were released by Judge Metts after showing Proof of high school graduation and proper court required documents.
14 people were unable to pay or post bail, and went to Montgomery County Jail.
240 warrants were cleared up.
$21,527 in fines and post bail revenue was collected.
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