JimBob
01-10-2008, 10:20 AM
GRANGER CASE Tempe court issues warrant
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
1/10/2008
A misdemeanor arrest warrant was issued for Oklahoma defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger on Wednesday, but Granger still has several options to avoid trouble.
Granger was arrested in Tempe, Ariz., on Dec. 29 for shoplifting. OU was in the Phoenix area preparing for the Fiesta Bowl. He was given an arraignment date of Jan. 8, but failed to show, prompting the arrest warrant.
"The warrant is still outstanding," said Jeanette Wiesenhofer, deputy court manager for Tempe Municipal Court. "In order to get the warrant quashed, he would have to post the $1,000 warrant amount or he has the other option of seeing a judge on the walk-in docket."
Tempe Municipal Court's walk-in docket is for two hours each weekday morning. Granger, who lives in Dallas, could appear himself or could hire a Phoenix-area attorney to represent him in court.
"He would just go into the judge and explain the reason why he didn't appear," Wiesenhofer said. "Based on his reason, the judge could recall the warrant and give him a new court date, or she could keep the warrant outstanding and then just indicate to him he has to post the $1,000."
As of noon Wednesday, the court hadn't received notice from a local attorney representing Granger, nor had it heard from Granger himself. Calls to Granger's Dallas home were not answered, and attempts to reach his mother, Debra Granger, were unsuccessful.
Tempe Police detained Granger because he has no local verifiable address. In most shoplifting cases, if the offender lives locally, he or she is given a citation and released, Horn said. The same holds true in Norman and other municipalities.
"If you are a resident of the metro area and you are arrested for a municipal offense, which petty larceny would be, then you are afforded the opportunity for a signature bond," said Capt. J.D. Younger of the Norman Police Department.
"What we're looking for," said Tempe Police Sergeant Mike Horn, "is assurances this person's not going to flee."
Granger was sued four times in 2007 by the Emerald Greens Country Club Apartments for failure to pay rent. The first three were settled out of court, but he lost the fourth judgment when he failed to appear in small-claims court in Norman last October. Horn, however, said Granger's previous failure to appear did not make him a flight risk in Tempe because it wasn't a criminal suit.
Granger will not be apprehended by police in Dallas or Norman, Wiesenhofer said, because his offense is a misdemeanor and he lives outside a 50-mile radius of Tempe. However, if he doesn't pay the bond, he'll have an outstanding arrest warrant on his permanent record. Also, Arizona's Department of Public Safety laws mandate that all arrests -- even misdemeanors, whether found guilty, not guilty or dismissed -- stay on a person's permanent record for 99 years or until one year after they are deceased.
"The best scenario is if he takes care of the warrant, if he posts the bond or comes in and sees the judge . . . on his court date," Wiesenhofer said. "Based on his record, if he ever had any of these offenses or if he has a clean record, the prosecutors could allow him to take some kind of diversion program, which would dismiss the charge if he completes the whole program."
Wiesenhofer also said Granger could have the warrant quashed by completing court documents and paying the bond by mail or by faxing a credit card number, but he still would eventually need to appear before a judge himself or hire an attorney to enter a plea.
NCAA rules prohibited OU from retaining an attorney for Granger or helping Granger pay his bond, but the school is allowed to advise him in the legal process.
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
1/10/2008
A misdemeanor arrest warrant was issued for Oklahoma defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger on Wednesday, but Granger still has several options to avoid trouble.
Granger was arrested in Tempe, Ariz., on Dec. 29 for shoplifting. OU was in the Phoenix area preparing for the Fiesta Bowl. He was given an arraignment date of Jan. 8, but failed to show, prompting the arrest warrant.
"The warrant is still outstanding," said Jeanette Wiesenhofer, deputy court manager for Tempe Municipal Court. "In order to get the warrant quashed, he would have to post the $1,000 warrant amount or he has the other option of seeing a judge on the walk-in docket."
Tempe Municipal Court's walk-in docket is for two hours each weekday morning. Granger, who lives in Dallas, could appear himself or could hire a Phoenix-area attorney to represent him in court.
"He would just go into the judge and explain the reason why he didn't appear," Wiesenhofer said. "Based on his reason, the judge could recall the warrant and give him a new court date, or she could keep the warrant outstanding and then just indicate to him he has to post the $1,000."
As of noon Wednesday, the court hadn't received notice from a local attorney representing Granger, nor had it heard from Granger himself. Calls to Granger's Dallas home were not answered, and attempts to reach his mother, Debra Granger, were unsuccessful.
Tempe Police detained Granger because he has no local verifiable address. In most shoplifting cases, if the offender lives locally, he or she is given a citation and released, Horn said. The same holds true in Norman and other municipalities.
"If you are a resident of the metro area and you are arrested for a municipal offense, which petty larceny would be, then you are afforded the opportunity for a signature bond," said Capt. J.D. Younger of the Norman Police Department.
"What we're looking for," said Tempe Police Sergeant Mike Horn, "is assurances this person's not going to flee."
Granger was sued four times in 2007 by the Emerald Greens Country Club Apartments for failure to pay rent. The first three were settled out of court, but he lost the fourth judgment when he failed to appear in small-claims court in Norman last October. Horn, however, said Granger's previous failure to appear did not make him a flight risk in Tempe because it wasn't a criminal suit.
Granger will not be apprehended by police in Dallas or Norman, Wiesenhofer said, because his offense is a misdemeanor and he lives outside a 50-mile radius of Tempe. However, if he doesn't pay the bond, he'll have an outstanding arrest warrant on his permanent record. Also, Arizona's Department of Public Safety laws mandate that all arrests -- even misdemeanors, whether found guilty, not guilty or dismissed -- stay on a person's permanent record for 99 years or until one year after they are deceased.
"The best scenario is if he takes care of the warrant, if he posts the bond or comes in and sees the judge . . . on his court date," Wiesenhofer said. "Based on his record, if he ever had any of these offenses or if he has a clean record, the prosecutors could allow him to take some kind of diversion program, which would dismiss the charge if he completes the whole program."
Wiesenhofer also said Granger could have the warrant quashed by completing court documents and paying the bond by mail or by faxing a credit card number, but he still would eventually need to appear before a judge himself or hire an attorney to enter a plea.
NCAA rules prohibited OU from retaining an attorney for Granger or helping Granger pay his bond, but the school is allowed to advise him in the legal process.