City concludes warrant roundup, clears more than $88,000

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press The city of Copperas Cove

wrapped up its warrant roundup which took place from March 1 through March 15, and in doing so, cleared a total of $88,639.86 in warrants. The city collected $24,316.90 of that amount, with $64,322.96 cleared. When a defendant takes action on their warrant, it is then cleared, which means it is removed from active status, said Jennifer Henry with the municipal court. The defendant can then choose to enter a plea of guilty or no contest and pay the fine, or plead not guilty and is then scheduled to appear for a court date. A total of 177 warrants were cleared during the roundup, with 56 of those being capias pro fine warrants and 121 being arrest warrants, or straight warrants, on people who have not entered a plea with the municipal court. The money collected by the city goes either to the city or the state. The city keeps the fine amount, which can vary depending on the type of offense. The state generally receives 90 percent of any court costs. The city keeps 100 percent of the local traffic fee and child safety fee and $4 from the arrest fee. Court costs created by ordinance collects $3 for the building security fund and up to $4 for the court technology Fund. A $2.50 time payment fee is collected on convictions not satisfied within a 30-day period. A portion of the fine from the unrestrained child charge and parent contributing to nonattendance is remitted to the state of Texas. An arrest warrant may be issued when the defendant fails to appear either in court or does not reply to the charges by their appearance date. These warrants were acted upon by the recent 15-day warrant roundup.