HOT CHECK WRITERS ARRESTED DURING OPERATION “BOUNCE” ROUND UP
On Saturday August 26 at 6 AM,
officers from the El Paso Sheriff Department, the County Attorney's Office, the
US Marshals Office, the Tax Assessor and County Constables initiated an arrest
warrant round up, as part of Operation Bounce.
In
total, 11 teams went out in search of 104 individuals with outstanding arrest warrants
for writing hot checks.
In
6 hours, the officers were able to detain 14 fugitives, but only 5 were booked
into the County jail. The other nine individuals paid the outstanding amounts
and fees, and were released immediately.
With
today's round up, the County Attorney's Office was able to collect another
$8,868 for local merchants. That amount, along with the approximately 125,000
that were collected during the amnesty period, bring the total collections of
Operation Bounce to more than $133,000.
Operation
Bounce is not over. During the next couple of weeks, officers from the County Attorney's
Office will keep searching for individuals with outstanding arrest warrants for
writing hot checks.
Wednesday
August 9 the El Paso County
Attorney José Rodríguez, El Paso Sheriff Leo
Samaniego, County Constables and members of several other law
enforcement agencies announced the implementation of Operation "Bounce", a
major initiative directed towards the prosecution and collection of money from
hot check writers.
The operation will begin on Sunday, August 13 with the
publication of the more than 4,500 names of individuals
with theft by check outstanding warrants, representing almost $ 4 million
dollars.
The
publication of the list marks the start of a 2-week amnesty period during which
the hot check writers may avoid arrest and criminal prosecution if they voluntarily
pay off their hot-check balances at the El Paso County Courthouse.
During
this period, the Hot Check payment windows at the County Attorney's Office (500
E. San Antonio, room 503) will remain open Monday thru Friday from 7 AM to 6
PM. Individuals must pay the exact amount due. Change is not available at the windows. Payments can be made
by money order, cashiers checks, cash (exact amount only), or Visa and Master
Card credit cards. No debit or check cards will be accepted.
Operation
"Bounce" will begin immediately after the end of the amnesty period, on August
26. Deputies from the Sheriff Office, the County Constables,
and several other local law enforcement agencies will start a countywide arrest
warrant round-up. The round-up will consist of officers going out and arresting
hot-check writers at their homes or place of employment.
During
a similar operation conducted earlier this year with the El Paso Police
Department, the County
Attorney's Office recovered
more than $180,000 for local business. Still it currently has almost five
thousand outstanding hot check warrants that represent around $ 3.95 million
dollars owed to local merchants.
"Although
it has been decreasing over the years, theft by check is still a serious
problem in our community. Local small businesses often face financial
difficulties because of their losses from hot checks", said County Attorney
José Rodríguez.
"Operation
Bounce is just one of several initiatives from our office directed towards
decreasing this problem in our community. We are making it easier for merchants
to report hot checks; we are giving them electronic access to their accounts 24
hours a day, 7 days a week to find out about any payments made to their
account. And we are getting ready to begin a "most wanted" type of program for
hot check writers", explained Rodríguez.
For more information regarding hot check payments and
balances; please contact the El Paso County Attorney's Office Hot Check Unit at
546-2051.
The complete and updated list of individuals with theft by check outstanding warrants has been posted in
the El Paso County web site at: www.epcounty.com
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Operation Bounce Press Release.pdf
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