DPS warns of possible roundup

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

SIKESTON -- This holiday season may be a bit less merry for some who could wind up spending Christmas in jail.

Each year, the Sikeston Department of Public Safety makes an effort to reach out to people in the community with outstanding warrants for their arrest. The hope is that those who have not maintained their good standing with the court will take care of their obligations. Doing so may mean the difference between spending time with family this Christmas versus spending time in jail, according to a recent news release from the department.

Many people fail to appear in court or fail to meet their obligations or pay fines for the offenses they have committed. When this happens, judges will often issue a warrant for the subject's arrest. In the last few years Sikeston DPS have conducted warrant round-ups to help combat this problem. This is when the department gathers information on these wanted subjects and a large cooperative effort is conducted to locate and arrest them.

Sikeston DPS has conducted previous round-ups with the help of law enforcement officials from Scott County, New Madrid County, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Miner PD, SEMO Drug Task Force, Army National Guard (Raid-1 Helicopter) and the U.S. Marshall's Service, to name a few.

Sometimes these round-ups will be done prior to a holiday, thereby giving these wanted subjects an extra incentive to meet their obligations to the court. By paying the fines and meeting these obligations to the court, these subjects will not face the risk of spending Christmas in jail, officials emphasized. Some of these subjects have warrants for serious crimes and must be apprehended.

"DPS officials have discussed the possibility of conducting a warrant round-up in the near future," Sgt. James McMillen, public information officer for DPS said. "So please take care of your obligations to the courts so you can enjoy this Christmas season with your family."

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: