Grace period out; DUI offenders with warrants bustedFeb. 7, 2006 05:40 PM A two-day police roundup of people with outstanding DUI warrants wrapped up Tuesday, nabbing nearly two-dozen people in Chandler. Authorities went to homes and workplaces to arrest people who had been convicted of drunken driving but who had failed to pay court fees, appear in court or follow through in some ways with their cases. "People wouldn't have these warrants to begin with if they would have taken care of things," said Chandler police Detective Frank Mendoza. Some simply forgot to show up for a court date. Others forgot to notify the court and some just haven't paid their fines. Other than failing to appear in court, failure to pay court fees is the second most common reason Chandler police have such a large backlog of these type of arrest warrants - nearly 3,000, said Chandler police Lt. Lucas Hunt. But no matter the excuse, if they didn't self surrender or come to the police station when authorities contacted them, they were handcuffed in front of others, usually co-workers or family. "We try to call people initially and let them know they can come in and if they don't, we'll come get them," Hunt said. Average DUI fees can cost more than $1,000 in court fees, Hunt said. The largest bond amount police found during the roundup was $4,200. One Chandler resident was handcuffed and arrested Tuesday at his workplace after police couldn't reach him by phone or at home. They called the Department of Economic Security to locate his workplace. Chandler police Sgt. Dean Lavergne and Arizona |
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Department of Public Safety Officer John Mouret asked a supervisor to bring him out to the lobby to avoid a confrontation in front of co-workers. "I don't want to embarrass the daylights out of him," Lavergne said. He quietly told him about the arrest warrant then put him in handcuffs. The roundup, which began Monday, stemmed from a DPS plan to follow up on outstanding warrants for not complying with court orders. DPS found more than 20,000 outstanding DUI warrants in Maricopa County alone, excluding Phoenix, said Sgt. Troy Titzer. DPS began with $25,000 in specially earmarked overtime money to conduct two roundups in April 2005. Operation Last Call, as it was called, netted about 75 people. This week's sweep, which also included police in Peoria, was the first time the program was conducted with outside departments. DPS hopes it will be successful enough to apply for more state money to continue the program. "Basically over the years the state has pushed to get the DUI drivers off the street - you see the task forces," Titzer said. "We've done a great job getting the impaired drivers off the street, but we aren't following up and they've never paid the consequences for what they did. We want to see that we get the job completed full circle." Anyone with a DUI conviction should make sure they are up to date with court orders and that all contact information, including a phone number is updated, Lavergne said. He said even if someone has a DUI and thinks they can't afford to make court ordered payments, it's better to talk with a judge so the court can work with them to set up a plan. "It
can range from the nicest guy in the world who made a mistake
or someone who had been all over the place," Lavergne said. This information is courtesy of http://www.azcentral.com/ |
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