Posted on 02/04/2008 3:12:24 PM PST by devane617
HARLINGEN — A woman with multiple oustanding warrants failed to appear in court Monday and in so doing may have doubled the number of warrants and fines she owes.
Valerie Ortiz Sanchez was scheduled to appear in municipal court to set up a plan to resolve more than $15,000 in delinquent fines, officials said.
Ortiz Sanchez, 31, now faces new charges for failing to appear in court about two weeks after police discovered she had 76 outstanding warrants that dated back to 1998.
“Seventy six warrants — again,” Court Administrator Cindy Weaver said after a bailiff locked the court’s doors at 6 p.m., signaling the end of the court session Monday.
As part of an agreement that led to her release from jail two weeks ago, Ortiz Sanchez promised the court she’d take care of unfinished business, Municipal Court Judge Valerie Garcia said in an interview outside the courtroom.
“She was supposed to come in, but she didn’t,” Garcia said flatly in an interview after court closed.
As part of her Jan. 15 agreement with the court, Ortiz Sanchez was scheduled to appear in court between 3 and 6 p.m. to set up a payment plan to pay her outstanding warrants, Garcia said.
Under the agreement, the court was scheduled to set pre-trial hearings on Ortiz Sanchez’s Class C misdemeanor charges of driving an uninsured car and parking in a space for handicapped drivers, Garcia said.
It wasn’t the first time Ortiz Sanchez reneged on promises to pay delinquent fines.
Harlingen police arrested Ortiz Sanchez in 2006 and 2007, Police Chief Danny Castillo said last week. Each time, she promised to work to settle her fines, he said. And each time, she skipped out on her promises, he said.
On Jan. 14, officer Salvador Carmona arrested Ortiz Sanchez after he spotted an expired registration sticker on her car, Castillo said. A dispatcher’s check with Municipal Court found she had 76 outstanding warrants.
The next day, Ortiz Sanchez appeared before Garcia, who set bond at $1,000 for driving without a valid license and $1,500 as a minimum payment on the warrants.
Garcia dismissed some warrants because they dated back so many years, leaving Ortiz Sanchez with a total of $15,696 in fines and fees.
It is unclear at this time what warrants remain outstanding and what fines are owed. No court or police officials have provided a list of the warrants.
After leaving the courtroom, San Benito police arrested Ortiz Sanchez for 10 outstanding warrants.
Jan. 17, San Benito officials released her after she posted $2,718 in fines.
Now, Cameron County authorities want to arrest her for outstanding warrants in Harlingen, San Benito, La Feria and Brownsville, San Benito Justice of the Peace David Garza said.
In Cameron County, she owes about $3,000 in fines, Garza said.
Oops, make that Campeon.
Comes from hearing it mispronounced too much.
Imagine that, she didn’t show up..... again.
Will I be the first person to wonder about her immigration status?
Let me check....
Warrant woman strikes payment deal
Sanchez required to begin paying $250 a month for unpaid fines
By AMANDA HARRIS/VALLEY MORNING STAR
January 31, 2008 - 12:04AM
HARLINGEN — A woman who accumulated 76 outstanding warrants and more than $18,000 in unpaid fines over a 10-year period has been given a chance to pay the money she owes the city, officials said.
A municipal court judge this week ordered Valerie Ortiz Sanchez, 31, to follow a payment plan.
“She is required to pay a minimum of $250 a month until her fines are paid off,” Finance Director Roel Gutierrez said Wednesday.
After missing her scheduled court hearing Monday, Ortiz Sanchez stood before a municipal court judge Tuesday and was given a payment plan, Gutierrez said.
Under the plan, it will take Ortiz Sanchez almost five years to pay off the $14,196 in fines she still owes the city, Gutierrez said.
Usually, a municipal court judge will require people with outstanding fines to make a first payment within 30 days of their court date, Gutierrez said.
Ortiz Sanchez originally owed $18,896 in fines for 76 warrants dating to 1998, officials said. The amount was reduced to $15,696 after some of the warrants were dismissed in a court appearance Jan. 15.
So far, about 20 warrants have been dismissed, including the oldest offenses cleared by the municipal court judge on Jan. 15 and others covered by a $1,500 payment Ortiz Sanchez made Jan. 16 to be released from the Harlingen city jail, Gutierrez said.
After making the $1,500 payment, her balance was down to $14,196.
Ortiz Sanchez went to the municipal court late Tuesday after watching local television news and learning she missed her scheduled court date Monday, Gutierrez said.
City officials did not charge Ortiz Sanchez with another count of failure to appear in court because she went to court before the paperwork for a new warrant was completed, Gutierrez said, which is standard procedure.
“As of now, her warrants are cleared but could possibly come back if she doesn’t make payments,” Gutierrez said.
If Ortiz Sanchez misses any payments, a judge will reinstate the warrants that have not been paid for, Gutierrez said.If Ortiz Sanchez begins to make payments and then stops at any point during the payment plan, the warrants she has not paid for will be reinstated, Gutierrez said.
Ortiz Sanchez’s case came to light after she was arrested in a traffic stop Jan. 14.
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