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NEWS

EBR agencies round up 100 on old warrants

  • By JARED JANES
  • Advocate staff writer
  • Published: May 22, 2008 - Page: 4B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

Law enforcement officials said Wednesday they won’t let inadequate jail space in East Baton Rouge Parish keep them from arresting misdemeanor and minor felony offenders.

Eight law enforcement agencies participated in a three-day roundup of those wanted on outstanding misdemeanor and felony warrants, Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said in a news conference Wednesday. More than 50 officers arrested 100 people and cleared 293 warrants in the operation that ended Wednesday.

Operation Hide and Seek was created in an effort to reduce the large number of outstanding warrants in the parish, Gautreaux said. Most of those arrested this week had numerous warrants for offenses such as domestic abuse battery or possession of marijuana.

He said the operation aimed to send a message to people with outstanding warrants, even misdemeanor ones.

“We’re going to continue to try and work on providing extra space within the parish,” Gautreaux said. “But we’re not going to let our space problems hinder us in making apprehensions and arresting the people who need to be arrested and taken off the street.”

Despite this week’s operation, thousands of warrants are still outstanding in East Baton Rouge Parish.

The Sheriff’s Office alone has about 74,000 outstanding warrants, said Capt. Anthony Ponton, commander of the office’s warrant division. Most of those warrants are for offenses such as unpaid traffic tickets.

While Gautreaux said not all people wanted on misdemeanor warrants need to be put in jail, he said officers have a problem with misdemeanor offenders who “thumb their nose up to us” by ignoring court summonses.

Judges issue multiple warrants after the offenders don’t show up for court, Gautreaux said, but those are sometimes ignored as well.

If needed, Gautreaux said, the Sheriff’s Office will start to house some of those offenders outside of the parish.

Nearly all of the Sheriff’s Office arrestees in this week’s operation were housed in Parish Prison although some female arrestees were sent outside of the parish because the female section of the prison was full. Gautreaux said a prison expansion would help ease some of those problems.

City-parish officials are considering whether to ask voters to approve a $55 million expansion and upgrade of the prison.

Authorities also used the operation to encourage those people who know they have outstanding warrants to contact law enforcement agencies to get them cleared.


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mark edward marchiafava
Thursday, May 22, 2008
2:48 AM

74,000 outstanding warrants? I can't help but wonder how many of them are intentionally bogus warrants issued for the sole purpose of harassing specific individuals and placing them in the parish prison? Don't think that happens? I know for a fact (firsthand) how the "justice" system in EBR works.
BatonRougeToday
Thursday, May 22, 2008
6:27 AM

Mark, thanks for the most idiotic comment in the history of the internet. Warrants dont just appear out of thin air without just cause. That could be anything from signing a ticket and not showing up in court, to bouncing a check, to commiting a battery on someone. When I was with the BRPD back in 95 when they were still printing the warrant book monthly, there were 43,000 so this number seems factual. Im not saying that there isn't a pretty decent number of innocent (really innocent, not proclaimed innocent) citizens on the books with warrants, but you know what, shame on them for hiding like a little girl instead of going downtown and answering for your charge. On a HUGE majority of those 73,000, the person named in the warrant wont even get jail time. They probably just owe a fine. A smart person with a warrrant (yeah, I just said that) would take advantage and go down to clear up the charges. With so many people being sought, its apparent that the EBRSO would be pretty easy to deal with in their efforts to clear up most of these smaller warrants.
mark edward marchiafava
Thursday, May 22, 2008
7:42 AM

Shows just how little YOU know, Baton Rouge Today. Yes, warrants DO "just appear out of thin air without (lawful) cause." I mentioned I know this for a fact, firsthand. Now, here you come and call me a liar. Aha !!! "When YOU were with the BRPD..........." That explains your blind, unquestioning loyalty to the local "justice" system. No wonder you cannot even begin to comprehend the reality of judges/clerks of court/police conspiring to generate bogus warrants. Here, allow me to educate you. Some years back, WBRZ's Rebecca Rainer, along with my attorney, sat in judge Byron Stringer's court. The very next week, city court issued a warrant for my arrest. What charge? Failure to appear. Your buddy, Ernie Rhodes, arrived at my house at 6am, pounding so hard on my home the NEIGHBORS were awoken by it. Why was I in court in the first place? Expired driver's license. Try googling my name, read all about what your thug buddies did during the time of this ticket. Just a tip of the iceberg the Advocate REFUSES to print.
mkwepowell
Thursday, May 22, 2008
8:06 AM

I agree with the officer, that is a pretty stupid comment from Mark. Maybe he have a warrant out for his arrest and he's in hiding from not showing up for some type of complaint. Oh, look at what time he made this comment, 2:48 a.m. He was sleeping on the job.
barbara norton
Thursday, May 22, 2008
8:10 AM

Did either of you two even bother to check out the accuracy of Mark's statements, or did you do as most do, assume?
mkwepowell
Thursday, May 22, 2008
8:12 AM

Barbara, I didn't but you can since you're so knowledgeable. Let us all know when you find out.
barbara norton
Thursday, May 22, 2008
8:20 AM

Since I was a firsthand witness to what Mark outlines, I need not check out anything. Since you weren't there to see firsthand what I saw (and heard), why not call Rebecca Rainer, wherever she now is working, or Mark's attorney, Mike Connelly? Both can easily confirm Baton Rouge City Court, in conjunction with the Baton Rouge City Police, do indeed issue known, bogus warrants to justify imprisoning specific citizens under the color of law. This not only happened once, but three times. Once could be considered a mistake, but three times defies the odds.
murphy stillwater
Thursday, May 22, 2008
8:47 AM

If you check city court records, you will find a warrant was issued for Mark after he paid a ticket for expired inspection sticker. When Mark called city court on a Friday around 4pm to clear up this "mistake," city court ran him around till they closed at 5, leaving Mark on hold. Shortly thereafter, 3 Baton Rouge city police units arrived at his home to imprison him for the weekend. Their efforts were unsuccessful, as he was next door. Please call Mickey Skyring, former clerk of city court, to confirm this did occur.
BrLady
Thursday, May 22, 2008
8:53 AM

Where can we as citizens get a list of the people arrested or is there a list compiled someplace for public view of all the warrants that are out there?
Munchkin
Thursday, May 22, 2008
10:59 AM

I would like that list .... It may be the only way to find out if my ex-husband is in the crowd ... and finally get the WAAAAYYYYYY back child support he owes me and my children (since he "disappeared" into the sunset without a following address back in 2002 !!!!!)
Great
Thursday, May 22, 2008
1:28 PM

I have to read about someone getting shot or stabed everyday and they are worried about people with unpaid parking tickets. Just great!!
Great
Thursday, May 22, 2008
1:29 PM

I have to read about someone getting shot or stabed everyday and they are worried about people with unpaid parking tickets. Just great!!
dougman
Thursday, May 22, 2008
2:25 PM

Thanks, Sid Geautreaux, for ridding the streets of dangerous weed smokers and people who have open containers. I'm glad to know that little things like space and money won't stand in your way from arresting more people. Man, I feel much safer. (sarcasm). I wonder how many man hours were authorized for this P.R. stunt. I'd like to see this same number of man hours assigned to unsolved murders and rapes. Louisiana has got to be one of the biggest misallocators of resources in the world, second only to FEMA.
John
Thursday, May 22, 2008
2:58 PM

Great job, by going after small time hoods we may just get some felons in the process. Granted many of the people are not criminals, now is the time for them to take care of the minor violations they have, crime is crime and comes with punishment and embarrassment. Nothing is 100% percent and given the fact that we are human some of these people are charged in error or wrongfully, but 99% are probably correct. If you are one of the ones caught please don't ask to call your Momma, you are being arrested fool. The time to call Momma is now before the police cuffs you, maybe they should have checked your residence to see what you smoked before they busted you! Round them all UP!
DDD
Thursday, May 22, 2008
4:28 PM

Let me get this straight, the EBRSO along with Uncle Leduff are locking up persons with misdemeanor warrants and saying hey we need a new jail? MISDEMEANOR i.e. a parking ticket, a no seat belt ticket or a teanager with a loud music ticket will get you a night in jail. This is STUPID, felons are running loose because there is no jail space but the Sheriff is going to fill with misdemeanor tickets...great going guys really SMART.
emily
Thursday, May 22, 2008
4:42 PM

Here's a link to BR City Court to look up warrants by person's name. http://brgov.com/dept/citycourt/warrants/ I couldn't find info on statewide public sites or criminal warrants.
mark edward marchiafava
Thursday, May 22, 2008
4:56 PM

DDD, Would you believe Judge Johnson sent me to parish prison, no arraignment, no trial, over a PARKING TICKET?
Stephen
Thursday, May 22, 2008
5:59 PM

Reading these comments makes me sick. So many idiots commenting and making no sense... Obviously you missed where the article said this..."Eight law enforcement agencies participated in a three-day roundup of those wanted on outstanding misdemeanor and felony warrants" Surprise! there was action on Felonies!!!! Personally, if our elected Constable would focus on the primary mission of his department, enforcing waraants, instead of closing the City Jail, and focusing on giving out Turkeys and playing social worker, He wouldnt need all the other agencies to clear up those warrants for him in a 3-day sting...
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