DALLAS — After days of warning, Dallas City Marshals followed through on their promise to arrest anyone with outstanding traffic offenses.
For those who were apprehended, it wasn't pretty getting handcuffed, read their rights, and tossed into the slammer.
Dallas Marshals Interim Chief Paul Hansen said a handful of people with outstanding fines woke up Sunday morning with a free trip to jail.
"So far we have nine in custody," Hansen said. "Eight of those are for City of Dallas warrants and one parole violator."
Dallas Marshals have been warning more than 134,000 people with 420,898 delinquent traffic and non-traffic violations to pay up — or get locked up.
Now the talk is over, and marshals in Dallas, Dallas County, Balch Springs, DeSoto and Duncanville are going door-to-door seeking out offenders. They are promising that those who weren't at home will still be tracked down.
After all, $99 million in fines need to be recouped.
"We'll be back until we catch them and put them in jail," Hansen said.
All of which can be avoided if offenders simply come in and pay their outstanding fines.
"We are going to continue as long as we feel like we can make a significant impact on warrants," Hansen said.
If you or someone you know has an outstanding citation, here's how you can avoid an embarrassing arrest. Simply go Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Dallas between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., seven days a week, or check the links on the right side of this story for more information about individual jurisdictions.
E-mail sgables@wfaa.com
