Safe Surrender Event in Española April 4 And April 5 For Outstanding Bench Warrants For Any NM Magistrate Court

Los Alamos Reporter
​ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS NEWS RELEASE

People with outstanding bench warrants from any magistrate court in New Mexico can safely surrender at the Rio Arriba Magistrate Court, 1127 Santa Clara Peak Road in Española on Friday, April 4 from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 5 from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.  

The safe surrender event provides anyone with outstanding warrants an opportunity to avoid jail and other consequences by appearing before a judge. At the time of surrender, anyone who appears voluntarily will receive favorable consideration when requesting a new court date, payment plan, or any other option required to comply with the court order.

“Helping people with bench warrants find solutions, that’s what Safe Surrender events are all about,” said Karl Reifsteck, director, Administrative Office of the Courts. “Judges heard 356 cases and cleared more than 1,100 warrants last year during Safe Surrender events in Santa Fe and Las Cruces”   

The Administrative Office of the Courts’ Court Operations Division will invite people who have bench warrants and live within a 50-mile radius of the host courthouse for the Safe Surrender event via postcard, calls and texts. For the Las Cruces event, the division sent out nearly 24,000 phone calls, 13,510 text messages and 19,865 postcards.
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Judges issue a bench warrant when a defendant violates requirements imposed by a court, such as appearing at hearings scheduled in a case.  If you are unsure whether you have an outstanding bench warrant, call the toll-free warrant hotline at 855-268-7804 or check online case lookup at www.nmcourts.gov.