Richland County Sheriff Lott offers suspects Mother’s Day gift

It might almost be a poem:

“Do your momma proud on Mother’s Day – get your warrant served in a civilized way!”

That’s Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott’s invitation to hundreds, maybe thousands, of suspects out there who have outstanding arrest warrants.

Normally, a deputy will swoop down on a fugitive and take him or her to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center for booking. It usually results in a short stint in the clink until the person can post bond.

But on May 7 – the day before Mother’s Day – Lott has organized an event where people with outstanding arrest warrants can have it served, get a court date and post bond, all without going to jail.

“We’re doing this at a church,” Lott said, “because we want people to understand that it’s not a scam, not some trick we’re trying to pull on them.”

Staffers from the sheriff’s department, magistrates and the clerk of court will be on hand to process those who appear.

“You can eat Mother’s Day dinner with her without thinking we might be looking over your shoulder and kicking the door in,” Lott said. “If your momma’s not alive, do it in her memory and in honor of her.”

The warrant backlog includes all kinds of charges, Lott said, from failure to pay child support to writing a bad check to failure to pay a traffic ticket. “We have some serious crime warrants, too – a little bit of everything.”

Many suspects who turn themselves in will be granted personal recognizance bond, meaning they will be released on their promise to appear in court later.

If a suspect has a warrant out for a serious charge, Lott said, “We are not going to say you can get out on a personal recognizance bond on that, but turning yourself in will be taken into consideration by the court when bond is set on you.”

The goal is to whittle down the list of pending charges for everyone.

“We’re trying to clear these things up, “ Lott said. “Defendants can bring their lawyers, even bring their mothers. We don’t want people to miss spending Mother’s Day with their mom because they are on the run from the law.”

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Richland County Sheriff Lott offers suspects Mother’s Day gift."