Over $17,000 in fines and fees relating to outstanding warrants were collected by Hays County Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Andrew Cable’s office last week.
The influx was a result of Cable’s office participating in the 2017 Central Texas Warrant Round Up, which was conducted along with Pct. 3 Constable Ray Helm’s office.
The move was the first time the Pct. 3 court had participated in the collaborative effort, which involves multiple jurisdictions in the Central Texas area, according to a press release.
Cable said it was a “resounding, huge success” in mitigating a large number of criminal cases pending on his docket.
Helm’s office, along with the assistance of the McCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen, P.C. law firm, cleared by exception - which includes arrest, paying fines, and setting up a payment plan - 86 outstanding warrants from the Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace docket.
Specifically, total monies collected from this joint agency team effort were $17,904.27 which included fines and fees due, according to the release.
Cable mitigated a substantial number of cases in which an additional $5,186.00 will be received from defendants over the course of the next six months.
According to Cable, the extensive amount of planning and research conducted by the JP court staff and constable deputies were “invaluable and most definitely well worth the effort,” according to the release.
Cable also expressed his appreciation to his court staff who worked “tirelessly preparing for this event which included the office being open for extended hours.”
Helm expressed his appreciation as well to his team and his staff.
During the course of the Round Up, Cable afforded Helm’s deputies the ability to access the court from very early in the morning through late in the day for magistration, subsequently overseeing mitigation of each case.
Cable noted that because of this success, he and Helm would have “warrant round ups” on a quarterly basis, including continued participation in the yearly Central Texas Warrant Round Up.
“Holding people accountable for their violations is very important. It would not be fair to those responsible citizens who have satisfied their judgments to not hold the others accountable,” Cable said in a statement.
