Although it's a little less than a month away, the Municipal Court, here in Abilene, is gearing up for the Great Texas Warrant Roundup.
"The very last thing we want to do is have to arrest people. Unfortunately, that's what we do," says Teresa Borcik, the Court Administrator. She passes on this simple message to anyone who may have a warrant out for an outstanding fine. Just come in and take care of it. "We just want to encourage individuals with outstanding warrants or citations to come in our office, now before the roundup begins."
Otherwise, you might find a City Marshall knocking on your door. "If they don't come in, then the Marshalls have no choice but to go out and look for the individual," adds Marshall Jim Harcourt.
Marshalls, like Harcourt, would prefer to have a person come in then to go looking for them. "Our main goal, is total compliance," says Harcourt, "it's better for you, for me, and for everybody else if they'll just pay their tickets."
However, if the Marshalls come out for you, Harcourt says your choices become limited. "There are no choices, you're either going to have to pay or you will go to jail."
While most comply with the City Marshalls, there are some that chose to get aggressive with the officers. .Although, Harcourt advises you go along with it. "Don't do it, it's just not a good thing to do."
While the Great Texas Warrant Roundup is less than a month away (March 7-17th), the Municipal Court and City Marshalls will continue to serve these warrants the easy way or the hard way.
