Youngstown Daily Legal News

Fugitive Safe Surrender program returns to Akron

SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: August 2, 2024

It’s been just over 10 years since the last Fugitive Safe Surrender program was held in Akron in June 2014.
But on Aug. 7, the event will again return to Summit County, with multiple courts, officials, law enforcement and attorneys turning out at the House of the Lord on Diagonal Road in Akron for the four-day event.
Created by U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio Peter J. Elliott in 2005, the national program gives individuals with outstanding warrants for nonviolent felony or misdemeanor crimes the opportunity to voluntarily surrender in a faith-based or neutral setting, thereby avoiding potential confrontations with law enforcement down the road.
The initial four-day Fugitive Safe Surrender was held at Mount Sinai Baptist Church in Cleveland in 2005. In all, 850 fugitives surrendered and hundreds of warrants were cleared.
The highly successful program has been duplicated across the country, leading to the peaceful surrender of over 70,000 fugitives.
During the upcoming event, the House of the Lord will be transformed into a makeshift courthouse, with judges, magistrates and staff from the common pleas general and domestic relations divisions and the Akron and Barberton municipal courts on site along with clerk personnel, assistant county prosecutors and defense counsel.
Additional partners supporting the event include Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro, the sheriff’s office, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the Akron Police Department, the Akron Bar Association and Oriana House.
In the Akron Municipal Court jurisdiction alone, there are a total of 14,283 outstanding warrants, of which 4,274 are for traffic violations.
All six judges and a number of magistrates will participate in the upcoming Fugitive Safe Surrender, including Judge Ron Cable, who said he’s hopeful a large number of these matters can be resolved.
“I was involved in the last event in 2014 while a magistrate at the domestic relations court,” said Judge Cable. “We got a lot of outstanding child support warrants resolved and I believe we will be successful in clearing a lot of the municipal court’s warrants this time.
“It’s a good opportunity for folks with warrants who failed to show up to court and are now afraid to do so to have their problems addressed so they can stop looking over their shoulders.
“We are prepared to take pleas on nonviolent misdemeanors and individuals with license forfeitures should be able to get these cleared up or at least addressed,” he said.
Over at the Summit County Common Pleas Court General Division, Judge Jennifer Towell is coordinating the event. She expects seven of the 10 female judges to participate, including herself.
“Since March I have been having monthly meetings with those at the clerk, county executive, county prosecutor and sheriff’s offices, members of the Akron Police Department, Oriana House and others,” said Judge Towell.
“The goal is to resolve these warrants in a positive way and avoid potential confrontations with law enforcement that don’t always end well for officers, fugitives or the community,” said Judge Towell.
“We are sending over 200 letters to local houses of worship to garner the support of faith-based organizations in the community in getting the word out about this program,” said Judge Towell. “We hope to help individuals surrender safely and be able to move forward with their lives thereby avoiding the negative and possible dangerous effects of arrest and the potential involvement of loves ones.”
According to the Summit County Clerk’s Office there are 6,817 outstanding criminal warrants in the common pleas general division and 499 in the domestic relations court.
“Some of these warrants may be outstanding for years because there are simply not enough deputies and/or police officers to locate and arrest these individuals,” said Summit County Common Pleas Court Administrative Judge Alison McCarty. “We’re expecting hundreds of people to show up over the four days.
“A lot of these matters can be easily cleared up,” she said. “Some cases may involve more complicated matters that will require follow up at the court, but the judges have agreed to take into consideration that people have voluntarily surrendered.
“I’ve participated in Fugitive Safe Surrender in the past as a municipal and common pleas judge,” said Judge McCarty. “Despite the fact that it has been ten years since the last event, I believe this one will be quite successful.”
More than half a dozen defense attorneys have agreed to volunteer their time to assist those who show up during the four-day period, including sole practitioner Donald Hicks, who has participated in the past.
“I’ve been a part of every event that’s been held locally,” said Hicks, a criminal defense attorney. “Back when U.S. Marshal Elliott came up with the idea, it was quite novel. He and the faith-based community were trying to avoid dangerous situations that can occur when a police officer encounters someone who has an outstanding warrant.
“I think it’s a very important event and I’m glad to see that so many individuals are involved in it,” said Hicks. “Having people turn themselves in at a house of worship encourages them to do so because it provides them with a sense of trust that they will be treated fairly.”
The Fugitive Safe Surrender event at the House of the Lord in Akron runs from Aug. 7-10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Childcare is available.
Individuals who want to surrender do not need to make arrangements to do so in advance, but they should bring some form of ID.
For more information on the event, visit https://sheriff.summitoh.net/files/34540/file/fugitive-safe-surrender_faq.pdf

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