WFAA-TV

Some said they didn't know there were warrants against them.

ARLINGTON - Tarrant County constables launched a deadbeat dad round-up early Tuesday morning in Arlington going after about 36 of the county's most delinquent fathers.

Some couldn't be found.

Some had live-in girlfriends with warrants of their own.

But others - about half the list - were caught and taken in.

One guy wouldn't come out until Oncor Electric arrived to cut off his power, which he had illegally spliced from a neighbor.

He said he knew there was a warrant out for him for his arrest for non-payment of child support.

This year alone, in this precinct alone, Tarrant County constables have collected about $4 million in delinquent child support.

It's part of an initiative with the Attorney General's office to crack down on dads who don't pay up.

"These individuals have completely neglected their children," said Clint Burgess, a Tarrant County constable.

Tiffany Covais has been divorced since 1996 and says her husband has paid only a fraction of the child support she's owed.

"This week we bought her a Letterman jacket, which is a lot of money, and a senior ring, a lot of money, and she's been on a trip to New York, and we just don't get any help," she said.

But that's just what these constables hope to provide by helping to track down the most delinquent of deadbeats.

E-mail jbrady@wfaa.com.