1.7 million warrants out in Houston area Wanted: residents with 1.7 million warrants

The offenses are worth more than $340 million

Galveston County Precinct 4 Deputy Constable Tiffany Atkins with nearly 17,000 outstanding warrants in Santa Fe. Galveston County Precinct 4 Deputy Constable Tiffany Atkins with nearly 17,000 outstanding warrants in Santa Fe. Photo: James Nielsen, Chronicle Photo: James Nielsen, Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 1.7 million warrants out in Houston area 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Nearly 2 million warrants worth more than $340 million are outstanding in the Houston area, and in most cases they're not for hard-core criminals.

They're for average residents who haven't settled minor traffic and ordinance citations.

The class C misdemeanor offenses, punishable by fines only, can be resolved by showing up at a municipal or justice of the peace court to answer the charge. But when people fail to comply with the law, judges are forced to issue warrants for their arrest.

The figures, based on information provided to the Houston Chronicle from a select number of courts in Houston and five surrounding counties, document only a snapshot of the widespread problem, which overwhelms some courts and law enforcement agencies. Judges and police officials say managing thousands of case files and tracking down scofflaws is a never-ending task. As soon as warrants are cleared, more roll in.

Houston is equipped to handle the large volume of warrants generated through its courts. But many small courts and police agencies in the suburbs struggle with limited resources and less sophisticated computer systems.

Houston alone has more than 1.2 million outstanding class C misdemeanor warrants. On average, most people have one to three active warrants. Many alleged offenders have multiple warrants because they receive a warrant for each violation on the citation, plus they get an additional warrant for failure to appear in court.

The warrants cover violations from motorists who run red lights to business owners who don't have burglar alarm permits to residents who don't properly handle yard waste.

Court officials estimate the warrants are worth about $300 million, which would be pumped into the city's general fund when collected. A lot of that money, however, is not actually owed to the city until a person is found guilty.

City Councilwoman Sue Lovell said city officials are more concerned about closed cases that still have unpaid fines. She said the municipal court needs to be more aggressive about collecting fines on those cases.

About 80 percent of Houston's warrants are traffic-related, said Gwen Goins, spokeswoman for Houston Municipal Courts Administration.

Yet, some of the city's worst offenders are those with building code violations related to property or businesses they own. The top nine offenders each have 99 or more warrants. All but two live in the Houston area, and despite having addresses listed in court documents, none have been arrested.

Houston's top offender

Houston police officials say they target the worst offenders first when they conduct annual warrant sweeps, and they're usually more interested in catching those involved in other illegal activity, said Assistant Chief Vicki King.

“We really want to get criminals off the street,” King said. “People who couldn't or wouldn't pay are not forgotten. If they get caught, they will go to jail.”

Houston's top offender is Collins Ofoegbu, of El Sobrante, Calf., who has 710 warrants for building code violations at a Houston apartment complex. A fire destroyed the property at 5600 Holly View Drive about 18 months ago, according to his Houston attorney, Jeff Seely, who is representing Ofoegbu in a lawsuit against the insurance company he said has refused to pay him for the damages.

Court officials say code violation warrants can add up quickly, especially when inspectors find multiple violations during an inspection. If those violations are not corrected by the next 30-day inspection, they are written up again. Ofoegbu, for example, has 350 warrants for failure to securely seal an unused water well on his property.

In an email, Ofoegbu said he is aware of the warrants but won't be able to resolve them until the insurance dispute is settled. Authorities can't extradite him back to Houston on a class C misdemeanor, said assistant city attorney Randy Zamora.

Judges said financial issues keep many people from settling their cases. The recession hasn't helped the situation. Many people have to choose between paying their grocery bill or their tickets.

“It's going to get worse before it gets better,” said Montgomery County's Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Lanny Moriarty, whose court has more than 23,000 warrants.

Letter sent, name flagged

When people don't show in court after 30 days, courts are required by law to flag the defendant's name in the Texas Department of Safety database. It prevents people from renewing their driver's license or getting a driver's license if they don't have one. The tool often motivates people to take care of their tickets.

Many courts send notices reminding people of their warrants. It's a less effective alternative but sometimes triggers responses.

Shadrick Wayne Taylor, of Alvin, contacted the Galveston County's Precinct 4 Constable Office on Thursday after receiving several orange cards in the mail for a 3-year-old outstanding ticket for failure to maintain liability insurance. He said he had ignored the notices because they had the wrong name.

Taylor, a mail carrier, said he had forgotten about the ticket and plans to come to court next week and request a payment plan.

He's looking at a tab of more than $1,000 in fines and fees, said precinct warrant officer Deputy Vicky Atkins, who has been tracking Taylor for about a year.

Galveston County Precinct 4 Judge Michael W. Nelson said some people forget about their tickets, but he thinks a large majority simply thumb their nose at the law.

Nelson believes the system should be reformed to get more people to comply. “There's no meat or substance to what we can do if (the offender) is not a responsible person,” Nelson said.

While other judges agree with Nelson, they say the system is working overall.

Other strategies

Annual amnesty programs and warrant sweeps continue to help clear cases, and new technology is being used to better manage cases and to catch scofflaws.

Houston municipal courts, for example, are looking at flagging a defendant's vehicle registration through the state transportation department's database, said presiding Judge Berta Mejia.

And last year, Houston police purchased automated license plate readers that read up to 60 vehicle license plates per minute, enabling patrol officers to pull over those with warrants. In addition, police now have the ability to run credit card payments so people can settle outstanding warrants on the spot.

Harris County Judge Bill Yeoman, who presides over the Justice of the Peace Court in Precinct 5, said he once suggested that warrants list be published in local newspapers . He also thinks it wouldn't be a bad idea for Texas to follow Illinois' example.

When people are pulled over for a traffic violation, their driver's license is confiscated and the written citation serves as their temporary license until they appear in court. If they don't come to court, the state suspends their license.

“It's a way of curtailing the necessity of issuing warrants,” Yeoman said.

renee.lee@chron.com