‘Second Chance’ Days returning

‘Second Chance’ Days returning

Judge Fred Thorne offers folks with outstanding warrants to get on the right side of the law

news@theeveningtimes.com

Residents of Crittenden County with outstanding court warrants will have a second chance to turn themselves in without getting arrested. West Memphis District Court will be offering another Second Chance Program where residents can come in and get a court date to get their legal matter disposed of.

Sheriff Mike Allen said the last time Judge Fred Thorne offered the second chance more than 40 people took advantage of the chance to get their driving privileges restored.

“It’s a second chance to get everything straightened out,” Allen said. “I had a woman last time who came up from Texas. She had a warrant a couple of years ago and had moved to Texas. She wasn’t able to get her drivers license because it had showed her drivers license in Arkansas had been suspended. When she found out about this program, she came up here from Texas to get her warrant taken care of.”

Allen said once an offense is entered into the system and the offender fails to show up for court or doesn’t pay the fine, it automatically results in the revocation of driving privileges and does not go away until the matter is disposed of by the court.

“If you get a ticket and you fail to pay, you are going to have your license suspended,” Allen said.

Allen said a lot of time people in Crittenden County don’t have the money to pay the fines. The Second Chance program is a good way for residents to come in on their own and get it cleared up and work with the court on a payment plan.

“A lot of people can’t afford to pay the $400 or however much it is. But they might be able to pay $50 a month,” Allen said.

“The judge will let you work out some kind of payment.”

Residents will have three chances to turn themselves in: Thursday Jan, 25, Thursday Feb. 8, and Thursday Feb. 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Court dates for traffic warrants will all be set for a March 9 trial from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Criminal warrants will receive citations to appear and set on the regular court docket for plea.

There will be a $50 service fee applied to the balance and the cost of the fines assessed.

Allen said he hopes even more residents this time will take the opportunity to get their warrants cleared up.

“I’ve had more people tell me how great this is,” Allen said. “I really want to thank Judge Thorne for doing this. If you are tired of looking over your shoulder or in your rear view mirror and want to get your warrant handled without getting arrested, act now. Get the matter taken care of and get your driving privileges restored with the state.”

By Mark Randall