FORT WORTH - Tarrant County constables arrested 22 parents Friday morning for failing to pay court-ordered child support.
Among the arrests was Choice Wilson, who owes more than $79,000 in back child support. He's one of the top evaders in Tarrant County and the state of Texas.
The sweep was a joint initiative by the Texas Attorney General's office and all eight Tarrant County constables.
It began around 7 a.m. Friday, when constables dispatched teams of deputy constables to track down non-compliant parents before they had a chance to leave their homes for the day.
Delinquent parents arrested on civil warrants face up to six months in jail. Cash bonds posted by the parents to get out of jail are paid to the custodial parents and children who are owed back child support, according to a release from the state attorney general's office.
Other parents who have fallen behind on child support payments, but are not yet subject to warrants for their arrest, are being encouraged to contact the Attorney General's Child Support Division to make payment arrangements.
Statewide, child support payments collected by the Office of the Attorney General exceeded $2.9 billion for the fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, 2010. Tarrant County parents paid $241 million of that figure.
