Smith County Warrant Round Up Deemed Successful

TYLER — Officials report a big jump in collections during the recently-completed third annual Smith County Warrant Round Up. According to a county news release, 385 warrants were cleared and $132,870 was collected. That compares to $90,000 collected in 2014 and $80,000 collected in 2013. “This is the most successful warrant round up the county has ever had,” Smith County Judicial Compliance Supervisor Sheryl Keel said. “We’re definitely going to do this again in the future.”

Smith County combined forces with other jurisdictions across Texas to participate in the largest joint warrant round up of this type in the state. The Smith County Courts had hundreds of active warrants they were seeking to clear through the round up. Ms. Keel said the warrant round up started when more than 4,000 bright pink notices were mailed out Feb. 20 to anyone with outstanding court costs and fines where a warrant had been issued.

On March 7, local law enforcement began visiting homes, neighborhoods, and places of work to arrest anyone who had not settled his or her debt with the county. Law enforcement agencies involved with the round up included the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office, constables’ offices, Smith County Judicial Compliance Department, pre-trial services, and the 911 Center. Only three arrests were made on March 7 but people continued to pay their warrants to clear their cases throughout March.