'You can't run forever': People with Summit warrants participate in Safe Surrender event

An Akron woman had extra motivation to attend a Fugitive Safe Surrender event this week.

To regain custody of her 9-year-old son, Kyleena had to address her pending traffic and misdemeanor warrants. If she could do this, her son could return home by the weekend.

“This event going on is helping a lot,” the 29-year-old woman said as a deputy looked up information on her warrants. “Without it, it would be a struggle for sure.”

Kyleena, whose full name is not being used because she faced only minor offenses, was among more than 100 people who attended the first two days of a Safe Surrender event that started Wednesday. Most had misdemeanor or traffic charges, though some had felony warrants.

The event, which is aimed at giving people with Summit County warrants a safe place to surrender, will wrap up its final day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It is being held at the House of the Lord, 1650 Diagonal Road in Akron.

This was the first time Summit County has had a Safe Surrender event in a decade. An event that was in the works in 2020 was canceled because of the pandemic.

Summit County Sheriff Kandy Fatheree said this week’s event, which involved a collaboration of numerous courts, law enforcement and other local agencies, took about 16 months to plan.

Fatheree, who was there for the first day of the event, was pleased with the results. She said she talked to one person whose grandmother talked him into attending and another whose mother accompanied him.

“Most of them — they didn’t want to look over their shoulders anymore,” she said. “It was a combination of a lot of different things. They wanted to feel like they were in control.”

Going foward, Fatheree said she believes the county should hold a Safe Surrender event every couple of years.

Outside of Safe Surrender, Fatheree said people with warrants who want to turn themselves in can reach out to the Summit County Legal Defender’s Office or the Akron Bar Association and request an attorney to accompany them to court to appear before a judge.

How the Safe Surrender process works

A 49-year-old Akron man was the first in line at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday before the doors opened for the first day of the Safe Surrender event.

The man, who didn’t want his name used, said he hoped to get his misdemeanor warrants addressed and then have time to work for a few hours.

Asked if it would be a relief to be able to put this behind him, he said, “Oh my God, you don’t know.”

“I always wanted to get this taken care of,” he said. “I was scared and didn’t know how to go about it.”

Those who attended filled out a form that was then processed to see if they had any warrants. If they didn’t, they could leave. If they did, their names were put into a queue to determine where they were from and if they qualified.

The event was geared toward warrants from Summit County, so a few people were turned away who had warrants from another county.

For those who qualified, deputies did searches to determine what courts they had warrants from. The participants were then fingerprinted using a digital scanner. They met with an attorney and, finally, appeared before a judge in a makeshift courtroom.

Scott Rilley, deputy director of the Summit County Legal Defenders Office, said most cases can be addressed at the event unless they involve a victim. In cases involving victims, he said, the person might be required to appear in the actual courtroom at a future date to allow for the victim to have a say in the case.

“If we can resolve them, we will,” said Rilley, whose office had four attorneys and an intern helping with the event.

Local agencies provide help at Safe Surrender event

Several agencies also had tables set up at the event to provide participants with information on services available to them.

The University of Akron School of Law Legal Clinic, which assists people who need help with getting their driving privileges restored or their records expunged, was among the agencies.

Joann Sahl, the clinic’s assistant director, said several people who attended the Safe Surrender event had no warrants but did need help with driver’s licenses issues. She suggested they attend a clinic in which help will be provided on this issue from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 10 at the law school, 150 University Ave.

Sahl said many of those who attended the Safe Surrender event had both warrants and driver’s license issues.

Akron man with recent case gets new court date

Herman, a 43-year-old Akron man, attended the Safe Surrender event to address two misdemeanor warrants he had for an incident a few days before.

Herman, who is a full-time student, said he wanted to set a good example for his four children.

“It doesn’t make any sense to run or try to evade the law,” he said. “You can’t run forever.”

Herman had pending misdemeanors in Akron Municipal Court for aggravated trespassing and criminal damaging.

Judge Jon Oldham lifted Herman’s warrants but explained to him that his case couldn’t be settled because it involves a victim. He gave Herman a $2,500 signature bond and urged him to appear in Akron court for a pretrial on Aug. 20.

“If you don’t do that, you will be back in a warrant situation,” Oldham warned him. “You do have to keep showing up to court.”

Herman promised to be there.

Akron woman leaves event with no warrants

Kyleena had five pending warrants, three in Akron and two in Barberton.

When she appeared in Akron court, Judge Oldham asked Kyleena how she heard about the Safe Surrender event.

She said her recovery coach told her about it. She also told him she wanted to resolve her warrants to regain custody of her son.

“It seems your motivation is to get things in order,” Oldham said. “What’s most important to getting things in order?”

“My life,” she said, chuckling.

Kyleena pleaded guilty to a theft charge from 2022. Prosecutors dismissed a drug paraphernalia charge and amended a driving under suspension charge to driving without an operator’s license.

Oldham sentenced Kyleena to 180 days in jail, then suspended this and ordered her to obey all laws for a year and pay court costs. He told her she could pay the costs by doing community service.

Down the hall in the temporary Barberton court, Judge Todd McKenney dismissed one driving under suspension charge against Kyleena and reduced the other driving under suspension charge to driving without an operator’s license.

That meant that Kyleena left the Safe Surrender event with no warrants. And all she needs to do to get her driver’s license back is retake the driving test and pay reinstatement fees.

“I am actually warrant-free!” she said. “It’s awesome! It’s freeing.”

“It gives me assurance I can have my son back and don’t have to look over my shoulder when I leave the house,” she added.

With this done, Kyleena began preparing to welcome her son home. She planned to take him kayaking.

Asked her advice for others who have warrants, Kyleena said they should follow her lead.

“Go to Safe Surrender,” she said. “It’s a brand-new start and it’s a second chance at a new beginning.”

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com , 330-996-3705 and on X (formerly Twitter): @swarsmithabj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'You can't run forever': People with Summit warrants participate in Safe Surrender event