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Great Texas Warrant Roundup circles Collin County
By Zach Markovic, zmarkovic@acnpapers.com
Collin County will have the right to remain silent on Saturday.
Well, at least those with outstanding warrants will have the chance to exercise that right. The Plano Police Department is one of more than 250 law enforcement agencies across Texas participating in the “Great Texas Warrant Roundup,” which commences March 6 and runs through midnight on March 20.
Plano police, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, will track down those with outstanding warrants within and outside the city. Area municipal courts are also picking a day during the weeks to stay open longer so citizens have more opportunity to pay off their citations.
“It is a very effective program that allows us to have extra people out there picking up warrants that have fallen behind,” McDonald said. “We search for outstanding warrants on a daily basis; this event is a way to concentrate our efforts.”
Defendants who wish to resolve their warrant(s) prior to the roundup are directed by the police spokesman to contact the municipal court at 972-941-2199 or visit the court’s Web site for additional information and to avoid being arrested. Also, the Clerk of Courts office in the municipal court, located at 900 East 15th Street, will stay open until 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 12, to accept payments.
And citizens with warrants in cities other than Plano should not feel like they are off the hook. The McKinney Police Department is one of the many area police agencies taking part in the roundup.
“Due to the success of the roundup over the last few years, we expect to resolve a large number of outstanding warrants. Anyone with an outstanding warrant could be arrested at any time of the day or night – at home or at work,” said McKinney’s City Marshal Tim Rich. “We always prefer that people take care of their violations and encourage them to do so rather than being arrested.”
Those with warrants in McKinney who want to pay their citations and avoid arrest during the warrant roundup are directed to contact the McKinney Municipal Court at 972-547-7679, or appear in person Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Thursdays 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. at 130 S. Chestnut St., McKinney. They can also pay online at www.mckinneytexas.org by clicking on the “I Want To” tab.
Sergeant Nicole Shaw, spokeswoman for the Allen Police Department said Allen participated in its own warrant roundup last weekend. She said the department set up a special area that stayed open late into the evening to handle all of the people that came into pay or were being booked.
“We try to advertise beforehand to encourage people to come in and pay for (the warrants),” Shaw said. “About $30,000 of warrants have been cleared up because of the roundup.”
Shaw said they would establish sign-ups for officers to volunteer to work the weekend, which is why, logistically, it was easier to do their roundup last weekend. Once there, they assign teams of officers who then go out into the community and surrounding areas if they are close enough and make their arrests.
“If they are closer to us, we will send teams that are closer and generally the most recent warrants,” Shaw said. “Mainly the most recent warrants are searched for because usually they are still at the last given residence.”
A listing of all defendants with outstanding arrest warrants from the Plano Municipal Court is available at: http://www.plano.gov/Departments/Police/Pages/warrants.aspx.
The list consists of the names of more than 10,000 defendants. The site also includes information on how to clear warrants, including credit card payment via the Web or by telephone, which makes personal appearance in the court unnecessary. Those with warrants can also make their payments through www.governmentpayment.com
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