Vehicles With Unpaid Citations May Be Seized

Like El Paso, the city of Las Cruces has struggled to collect delinquent fines, mostly from people caught by traffic cameras. Now the city is cracking down on their ordinance to get that money they are owed.

Hundreds of people have unpaid fines on tickets from Redflex cams, police said.

The city has the ability to seize and impound vehicles for this reason, and police said, they will.

“I think it’s messed up,? a motorist said, right before he passed through the intersection of Lohman Avenue and Walnut Street, one of three in the city with the photo enforcement cameras.

Another man said, ?I wouldn?t like it at all, I mean, I need this car.?

And if you want to keep your car, police said, you better pay up if you are photographed by a Redflex cam.

“The next step is to boot vehicles of the owners who have not paid these fines,? Dan Trujillo, spokesman for the Las Cruces Police Department, said. ?And if that doesn’t work within 90 days, if they haven’t followed through, the City will take action to seize these vehicles permanently.”

This is not new. Police said it has been part of the city ordinance since Redflex cameras were installed nearly two-years ago. It was hoped motorists would just pay the $100 fine if they were caught speeding or running a red, police said, but that has not been the case.

“Just the top 24 scofflaws, the people who have not paid, of those that’s around 25 to $26,000.”

Not to mention hundreds of others, who city officials said, have failed to pay at least one citation. $4.4 million in fines have been issued to date. Only $2.9 million have been paid, leaving an unpaid difference of $1.5 million in Las Cruces.

“I guess you better pay your bills,? another motorist said.

Out of the top 25 violators, people with the highest number of outstanding tickets, police said 15 are men and 10 are women.

Each ticket is worth $100. Redflex collects half of each ticket; and the remaining $50 is divided equally between the state and the city.

To date, Las Cruces has received a net total of $740,000, with plenty more on the way, city officials said.

?If you break the law, you have to pay,” Trujillo said.