Challenger says there are hundreds;
Chief Deputy insists there are thousands
Here's one for you:
Reporting by R.S. Gates
Story by The Legendary Jim Parks
It seems auto mechanic Johnny Pace has come under the scrutiny of local lawmen for taking money for auto repairs he has not subsequently performed, leaving his would be customers afoot for extended periods.
He has been charged with Theft by Deception, a Class B Misdemeanor, but remains at large on two outstanding arrest warrants that were obtained from former Jail Magistrate Raymond Britton through the presentation of probable cause affidavits, both of them unsigned.
At one point, two Detectives on the McLennan County Sheriff's Office force confronted Mr. Pack with an arrest warrant in hand, but did nothing to place him under arrest, or even detain him.
The point remains. Challenger Parnell McNamara, a retired U.S. Deputy Marshal, insists there are 4-500 outstanding warrants. His opponent for the GOP nominatioin, Chief Deputy Randy Plemons, says that's not really true.
He says there are thousands - as many as 5,000 - on hand, many of them not the responsibiiity of the Sheriff's Department's Warrants Division.
District Attorney Abel Reyna, when quizzed after the Sheriff's Debate last Wednesday, said he's still having trouble getting the department to serve capias warrants on accused felons under Grand Jury indictments, both sealed and unsealed.
You're a pistol! I look forward to reading your blog. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteBefore any of the weekend detecives decide to try and pull statistics of served warrants for the Mclennan County Sheriff's Office, let me help cut through the malarky. Dont be fooled by the number as it could be false in terms of what you "think" is warrant service. Every day and i mean "everyday", the Sheriff deputies are tasked with going to probation and parole office when they call and picking up persons placed in custody by on site security when their probation or parole status has been revoked, remanding them back to jail. The arrest is made and the person is in custody when deputies arrive. The deputies simply transport them to jail and complete the paperwork. THIS will go down as an arrest warrant being served. When the mental health/warrants division is not busy transporting or handling a person deemed in crisis (80% of their job function due to the enormous demand in mental health) they perform this function. To their defense that is all they have time to do. However being a defense to that particular group doesnt equate to why the PRIORITY has NOT been placed elsewhere to get this job DONE! Its lack of caring enough to do it and do it properly. Padding the stats with the "transports" looks good on paper and thats what matters right?
ReplyDeleteThousands of unserved warrants??? I guess that's the difference between an administrator and a lawman. I know of a person a had a warrant that went unserved for over 8 months. It was a Class A Misdemeanor. Like Mr. Pack, I thought maybe that the Sheriff's Office just hadn't caught up to the person. Then after Sheriff Deputies questioned the person on a different case at their job, they still didn't arrest the person. The person was finally arrested with due to one of the DA's recognizing the person had an active warrant had had courthouse security arrest the person.
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing about 170 people that were arrested at the jail due to a group of jailers actions in checking visitors for active warrants. I also understand that the administrator, Plemons, stopped this because the dispatchers complained that the jail was calling. So now, 170 arrest warrants get added to the pile of thousands, because Plemons won't do his job.
I am happy that the DA's office seems to be working hard to arrest criminals. I can only guess its because of the leadership of an aggresive DA in Mr. Reyna and his chose of a lawman instead of an administrator for his Chief Investigator, Parnell's brother and fellow retired Deputy Marshal, Mike McNamara.
If Mike running the DA Investigators is getting some of these cold case warrants where they belong, just imagine the dent that Parnell could make in them as Sheriff heading the department that is the source of these unserved cases.
Outstanding! Now you chunkin' em in there, R.S. Gates. - The Legendary
ReplyDelete