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Wrangling citations
Comments 0 | Recommend 0Warrant roundup to corral court payments
Outstanding warrant holders should be receiving notification cards for their potential arrest soon - but they can avoid jail time by paying their fines before Aug. 4.
The citywide warrant roundup begins Aug. 4, but the notification cards are to help remind people to pay before such action's necessary, municipal court supervisor Lori Beck said.
"It gives them a courtesy before their potential arrest," she said.
Beck said 4,500 cards have already been sent out.
"Sometimes people forget they have outstanding citations," she said. "Sometimes people move, and we can't locate them. This is a way to get them back."
Beck also said the roundup makes kids realize the weight the municipal court has.
"A lot of kids think that nothing will happen, but you can go to jail at 17. They think the magic number's 18," she said.
Although arrests are possible, Beck said the warrant officers could usually pick up the wanted person and take them to the municipal court to pay the citation before an arrest is necessary. Beck noted that solution also saves time for the county jail.
The warrants - of which the city's currently got thousands - are a result of an individual's failure to appear at the Odessa Municipal Court or failure to comply with a court order.
Citations also included in the roundup are parking tickets, code enforcement violations, failure to sterilize a pet adopted from the Odessa Animal Shelter and other violations of Odessa municipal code or state law.
HOW TO PAY
>> Visit: www.trafficpayment.com, go to the municipal court in person at 201 N. Grant Ave., mail your payment to the municipal court P.O. Box 4398, Odessa, TX 79761 or call 888-597-7077 or 800-444-1187.
>> Do not mail cash to the municipal court.
>> Checks and money orders should be made payable to the Odessa Municipal Court and should include a driver's license number and date of birth to ensure proper identification.
>> Municipal Court hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday The court will also be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 9.
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