Judges Clear Hundreds Of Warrants, Fines For Oklahoma County Residents

Oklahoma County and city judges cleared hundreds of active warrants on Friday, giving those citizens a fresh start.

The warrant-clearing program aims to keep people with low-level offenses out of the Oklahoma County Detention Center.

The Oklahoma County judge spearheading the event said someone with overdue court fees or an old traffic ticket should not be in jail. The program keeps the jail population down and allows police to focus on catching violent offenders.

People came from all over the county looking to wipe their records clean. “I had some stuff like from 2013, 2014,” said Ricky Adams, had old warrants cleared. “They got rid of everything. That was just amazing, that has never happened to me. I feel super great.”

Judges stamped out warrant after warrant. “We’ve had five events and we’ve seen over 1,000 people come through those doors,” said Brigitte Biffle, Oklahoma County Public Defender’s Office. “Today alone we’re over 300 which is absolutely amazing.”

It relieved citizens of costly fines. “It’s a huge weight lifted, a huge weight lifted,” said Shauna Marie Vu, who had a bench warrant cleared.

Shauna Marie Vu owed the city $400. She showed up on Friday to the event not wanting to risk being arrested over an unpaid traffic ticket. “Like Oh my gosh what if I’m taking her to school and we get pulled over?,” said Vu. “There I go and what happens to her?”

County officials said warrants and unpaid fines can cost someone a driver's license and hold them back from getting a job, housing, and other daily necessities. “By coming here they’re able to take care of that,” said Biffle. “Get back on their feet and I think that keeps them from committing more crimes in the future.”

The next warrant-clearing event will be held on June 8th at Diversion Hub in northwest Oklahoma City. Transportation services will be provided. Call (405) 265-8713 for shuttle locations.