If you're driving in Kosciusko County and you're speeding or not wearing your seat belt you might get a ticket.
And if you don't pay that ticket, whether on purpose or accidentally, you will have a warrant issued for your arrest.
According to the Kosciusko County Clerks' Office, tickets for infractions such as speeding and seat belt violations usually say the ticket must be paid within 30 days of its issuance.If someone cited with an infraction fails to either pay the ticket or show up for the scheduled court date on the ticket, a warrant is issued for failure to appear.
Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department officers and Warsaw Police Department officers often serve warrants while not working accidents or cases.
If someone fails to pay for a ticket within the scheduled time, a warrant is issued and they are arrested, when they are arrested, no bond is set. That means the person is booked into Kosciusko County Jail until an appearance in Judge James Jarrette's Superior Court II.
Jarrette declined to comment when contacted by the Times-Union but did refer to Indiana Code 9.30.8.
The code states, in part, as follows:
"The court may issue a warrant for the arrest of a defendant who is an Indiana resident and who fails to appear or answer a traffic information and summons or a complaint and summons. ... If the warrant is not executed within thirty (30) days after issue, the court shall promptly forward the court copy of the traffic information and summons ... to the bureau indicating that the defendant failed to appear in court as ordered. The court shall then mark the case as failure to appear on the court's records."
If someone fails to pay for a ticket in Kosciusko County, the warrant will show up to officers in other counties.
For example, if a driver is pulled over in Allen County, the officer will see an outstanding warrant for failure to appear. The driver can be taken into custody in Allen County until an officer from KCSD can pick the person up.
According to the county clerks office, in Elkhart County, after tickets are issued and the person fails to pay or appear in court, there is about a two week grace period. After that a letter is sent to the Indiana Bureau Of Motor Vehicles.
At that point the BMV sends a letter stating the person's license will be suspended if the ticket is not paid within 15 days.
Whitley County follows the same protocol as Elkhart County.
Marshall County, like Kosciusko County, issues warrants for failure to appear.
Besides simply paying for the ticket before the court date, violators can ask for an extension by writing the clerk's office.
For information on asking for an extension, contact the county clerks office at 574-372-2451.
