Have a municipal warrant in Republic? Police say it's time to take care of it

The Republic Police Department has plans to round up some of the close to 1,000 people with outstanding municipal warrants in the city.

The Greene County Jail stopped accepting people charged with municipal offenses in April 2015, but the Republic Police Department said it has recently freed up some jail space at its headquarters for those individuals.

In a news release this past week, Republic police said they will be conducting a "Municipal Warrant Sweep" at the end of the month, in which citizens with outstanding municipal warrants will be arrested and brought to the police department to either post bond or go before a judge to resolve the warrant.

Those who are unable to post bond will be held in the city's jail until they see a judge, which could mean spending the night behind bars, according to the release.

The release says Republic had 872 outstanding municipal warrants in January 2015, but that number climbed to 1,018 as of Feb. 26 in part because of the Greene County Jail's policy change.

The release says that trend of individuals "failing to take care of their civic responsibilities" is what prompted the planned warrant sweep.

People with outstanding municipal warrants in Republic can avoid arrest if they appear before the municipal court judge prior to the warrant sweep on Wednesdays between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Republic Municipal Court is located at 540 Civic Boulevard.

If you're not sure whether you have an outstanding Republic municipal warrant or you want to know how to take care of a municipal warrant, the release says to contact the Republic Municipal Court at 732-3880, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Police are not saying exactly when the warrant sweep will occur, only that it will be at the end of March and last "several days."

The news release lists several of the crimes that can get you a municipal warrant in the city: stealing, assault, property destruction, possession of narcotics, DWI and trespassing.

Republic Police Chief Mike Lawton told the News-Leader in January he wanted to do a warrant sweep once the department was able to work out the logistics.

“Those who have failed to appropriately handle their legal responsibilities with the Republic Municipal Court still have a couple of weeks to contact the court and avoid possible arrest during the warrant sweep," Lawton said in the release.