Today, seven people were arrested on outstanding warrants, all of which were for failing to appear in court for child support, worthless check cases or other criminal issues. This round-up was organized by District Attorney Walt Merrell. “There are thousands of unserved warrants in the Covington County Court system, and we organized this coalition in an effort to get some of those warrants served so that these victims could find some measure of justice,” Merrell stated.

Investigator Doug Hattaway and Child Support Unit Coordinator Jeff Sellers, both of whom work for the District Attorney, oversaw the effort. According to Sellers, “We compiled a list of 70 people who had failed to appear for court hearings, and we are now conducting a full scale round-up of everybody on this list. This round-up will not end today, and we will continue until all of these people have satisfied their appearance obligations.” Sellers continued, “Sometimes, people are ordered to appear in Court because they have not paid their obligations. We don’t want to put people in jail for not paying. There were several people today who paid their court obligations, and the judge set aside their warrants for not appearing. Because of that, $2,332.00 was paid in towards delinquent child support or restitution owed to victims.”

“The whole purpose of doing this is because when a party doesn’t show up in court, the other parties are denied justice, and we get these warrants served so that the court can compel their attendance,” Merrell said. Some of these warrants can be recalled by contacting Jeff Sellers at (334) 427-7956 or Jeremie Shaffer, Worthless Check Unit Coordinator at (334) 222-2513.

Investigator Hattaway encouraged those individuals who think they may have an outstanding warrant to turn themselves in. “Today, there was an initial surge, but the effort will continue in the coming weeks. Rather than risk arrest and the turmoil that comes along with spending time in the jail, find out what your obligations are and get them taken care of,” Hattaway stated.