City Of Katy Texas Warrant For My Arrest - For a Parking Ticket ?! Katy Texas

Step 1: You get a ticket. Be it for parking, moving traffic violations, city code enforcement, animal control, and yes- for unpaid library fines (most embarrassing warrant I ever served). A ticket (or citation) is a summons to appear before the court and enter a plea to the charge, because the officer who wrote the ticket is filing a complaint against you alleging you committed a crime. Yes, in Texas if you run a stop sign you have committed a criminal offense and can be arrested. Mostly, though, you just get a ticket. Less paperwork for the cop, less hassle for the citizen.

Step 2:You miss your court date. The ticket has a date on it- it's not a suggestion. If you don't contact the court on or before that date, the judge wants to know why you are blowing him off.

Step 3: A warrant is issued for your arrest FOR THE ORIGINAL CHARGE. Criminal offense, remember? Depending on what you were originally charged with and how the court handles things, an additional charge called "Violate Promise to Appear" or "Failure to Appear" can also be added. It's something like contempt of court. Warrant fees are usually added. Court clerks and warrant officers don't work for free, and looking for you costs time and money.

Extra special surprises related to this step:

Tried to renew your Texas driver's license lately? You probably can't. Many courts report their warrants to Texas DPS, and have your driver's license "flagged". That means you can't renew it -EVER- until you take care of that ticket. We clear citations that are eight or ten years old this way. Side note- once the charge is filed with the court, the statute of limitations is out the window. My personal best is serving a warrant that had been on file for 12 years.

There's a similar process (Scofflaw) that will keep you from registering your vehicle (the sticker in the windshield you're supposed to renew every year).

You're not safe if you have an out-of-state license either. The Non-resident Violator's Compact means that I call TxDPS, they call the state your license is issued by, and your state suspends your driver's license until we tell them you've taken care of the ticket. If your state happens to be one of the handful that's not a member, that's okay. Once you've lived in Texas for awhile, our laws require you to surrender your out-of-state license and get a Texas one.

Step 4: Hopefully, you come to court and enter a plea to the charge, and thereafter meet your obligations to the court like a responsible citizen. If you don't, you have a cop knocking on your door. Then your neighbors (or co-workers) get to watch you being led away in handcuffs and put in the back of a police car. Seriously. I do it all the time.

Fun facts: Did you know, the fact that you have a warrant for your arrest is a matter of public record? Some cities periodically publish the names of people wanted for traffic tickets in the local newspaper.

Dontaing your time and supplies to a library 75.00

Parking illegelly and getting a ticked $156.00

being beaten with a wet noodle by pony boy - PRICLESS!!!

Dontaing your time and supplies to a library 75.00

Parking illegelly and getting a ticked $156.00

being beaten with a wet noodle by pony boy - PRICLESS!!!

Dontaing your time and supplies to a library 75.00

Parking illegelly and getting a ticked $156.00

being beaten with a wet noodle by pony boy - PRICLESS!!!

Dontaing your time and supplies to a library 75.00

Parking illegelly and getting a ticked $156.00

being beaten with a wet noodle by pony boy - PRICLESS!!!

OK,I have spent half a day doing my civic duty. I think all is successful but not without snafus. The city of Katy's computer was not working so I had to wait by the phone for a couple of hours to double check the amount i owed - $156

Trying get to the bank was a challenge cause all the roads leading to it were torn up,but I worked that out. The guy in front of me at the bank had an issue with his safe deposit box that took about 20 minutes to resolve. It was painful standing that long but I got thru it.

Then - standing in line at the post office took another 20 minutes. I will have to be very careful for a few days to not strain my injury any further

But in a day or two the city of Katy will love me again and that is the most important part,I just hope Peter will love me as much as the city of ---Yipes!! Whats that??? EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

(Door being kicked in) SLAM! CRASH! POW! BASH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
SWIIIIIIIISH!!!!!!!!


Channel 13 news 6pm:

"This is Dave Ward,our top story today is about a woman in the houston area who was attacked by a vigilante group calling themselves 'Peter's Pony Express'. The woman was beaten with 553 wet noodles while blindfolded and lectured about parking violations. A very lengthy manefesto was left at the scene which included the motto 'No traffic criminal will get away!!!' and now for Marvin Zindler's report....."

My new goal is to strive to reach the level of goodness,the civic brilliance, the faith and encouragement and wise counsel to his fellow man-----of Peter. Long may he reign as the Rip Off King of Goodwill!!

You're right, it does not matter that you were "making a donation" or attending to some other civic duty when you parked illegally. No parking means no parking!! Trying to buy sympathy by telling the story of why you chose to park illegally and that you wear leg braces is NOT going to help your case. And, just because you "paid with a check before" does not mean anything, as you were told that now you must pay with money order. (Ever think how many people paid with bad checks in the past?) Sitting around and NOT paying your debt because they do not accept checks is NOT a valid excuse. You state in your post that you have had parking tickets before ... when do you plan to follow parking regulations like the rest of us?

Go away Peter. Don't listen to ANTHING that Peter, from the imagenary town of 'Pony, Alabama" has to say. ANYONE who has been to this site, for more than a week KNOWS that Peter is NOT one to take seriously. Just do a search for Pony, Alabama and you find the reports that he has done. They are VERY FUNNY.

I know this does not matter, but what the heck I'll throw it in - at the time I got the ticket, I was donating time,prizes,and childrens toys to an event at the library.(I am a catering director) I wear two knee braces when walking and it is painful to walk far and carry supplies -but I have to do it.

The librarian told me to park right outside the childrens room door to unload - she thought it was ok too.

But there is no question that Peter's view is the way of the future-no mercy,no questions asked!

Elizabeth is reasonable to say snafus will happen again - I got a houston parking ticket last year and a moving violation 4 years ago - no problem with checks at all.

I've just never encountered a draconian situation like this katy thing - but I'm learning alot! thanks for helping!

While it may be inconvenient to exit your vehicle to get a money order, it is something that you must do in order to repay your debt for your illegal parking.

Ignoring a ticket, because you don't feel like entering the bank to buy the money order with which to pay it, will only catch up with you later, in the form of late fees, a cancelled registration, and eventually a warrant for your arrest.

May I suggest that you take responsibility for your actions and park in accordance with state and local regulations from now on. Oh, and PAY YOUR TICKET. If you find going to the bank to be difficult, just think how much you will enjoy going to JAIL.

Katy, Texas, like most municipalities, does not accept checks or credit cards. They have a very good reason. Checks bounce and credit cards have fees charged by the bank.

Since you live in Houston you will like to know that most Houston and Harris county courts do not take checks either. Just so you will be prepared for next time, if there is a next time. I am not implying that there will be.

I do not live or work in Houston but in a small town a couple of hours north. I worked at the library and had the option of swearing out a warrent for excessive library fines. Luckily I never used that power but it is avalible. If you owe money to any government agency, you can be arrested.
EE

you guys are right - i have been remiss in not biting the bullet and going thru the process of obtaining a m.o. or cashier's check even if the process is painful. My bank has a TON of steps leading up to the entrance and my entire family had trouble with it.

but - i have a really apprehensive feeling about this - there is just something not right

As the poster indicated - what kind of city will not take a check? credit card? payment by phone?

It bothers me that I have tried to pay it twice and my legal tender returned saying the amount has gone up

It makes me worried that if I send in a cashiers check or money order they won't count it somehow

SO - here is the plan. I cannot do anything about it till after the weekend,but I will go in person on monday with a m.o.

If they arrest me and say - " Oh,did we say $156? we meant $1056 !! then I will write you guys when I get out ! ;0]"

thank you for your help

Donna,

I know how hard it is to get around with a disability, but it is not impossible. A knee injury? That is what cruthches are for. I have 3 damaged disks in my lower back and I can still get into the bank when needed.

All you needed to do was to immediately call the court [yes, they do have a phone] with your name and Vin# of your car and they could immediately tell you the amount of the fine, date due, and method of payment accepted.

Yes, they can and will arrest you. You were ordered by an officer of the court to pay the fine or appear in person. You can be arrested for failure to appear.

If you really are handicapped, you should apply for a placard for your car. They are easy to get.
I do not have one, but could get it if I wanted it. I would rather let someone more disabled than me have it.

Somtimes things in life are inconvenient, but you need to be proactive in dealing with those things as they come up.

An arrest warrent for a parking ticket? That does sound a little extreme to me. Now, with that being said have you been in contact with them to find out if they accept credit or debit cards? Some city's now accept that as a form of payment. If they do, there might be a fee to do so. If you don't want to go that rout, couldn't you ask a neighbor or family member to get you the money order? Let us know what happens.

A neighbor, close friend, family member? Someone you can give the cash to that can get the MO for you?

Did the PD say on what charge you would be arrested? And was there a state statute referenced?

You seem to be able to get from your home to your car, from your home to your mailbox, you may have to make the effort to get inside if there is no one avaiable to get the MO for you.

Good luck.