Sandoval County Sheriff's Office receives more than $1M to tackle backlog of felony warrants

SANDOVAL COUNTY, N.M. – The Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office is getting more than a million dollars to chip away at a backlog of felony warrants.

“According to dispatch it is just under 500, 470 or so, and those are warrants that we are trying to target at this point,” said Sandoval County Undersheriff Joe Gonzales.  

Gonzales says this is their second round of money this year. They got together with Bernalillo County, Rio Rancho police, and Corrales police to put together a taskforce to make the process easier. 

“So some of these people are reoffenders and if they do not appear in court they never face the consequences of their crime. When we do these, that is what we are trying to get at, reoffenders and the most violent of the warrants that we have at this point,” said Gonzales. 

The grant will give the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office the money they need to pay deputies overtime, allowing them to knock on doors and clear warrants.

“As you know, Albuquerque had a huge problem with gun violence. Rio Rancho and Sandoval County, we don’t have that big of a problem, but what we do have is property crimes,” Gonzales said.  

Gonzales says as the population grows, it’s even more important to make sure everyone is safe. That means getting this backlog under control.

“These people have been charged with a crime they either failed to appear in court, or they appeared and absconded. At this point, those are the people that we want to bring back to the court and have their cases adjudicated,” said Gonzales.