Countywide : Court Cases Delayed for Some in Military

The Ventura County court system is postponing action on pending cases involving local military personnel who have been deployed to famine-stricken Somalia.

Court officials announced last week that Seabees and U.S. Marines who ship out from the Port Hueneme and Point Mugu bases will not be subject to penalties for failing to appear in court.

The penalties will be waived only if the family of a service member who has outstanding traffic tickets obtains a letter of verification from a commanding officer and then requests a postponement from the court’s traffic department in Ventura, said Vince Ordonez, assistant court executive officer.

Those who have misdemeanor or felony cases pending must contact the judge advocate’s office on base.

Ordonez said most of the cases include traffic citations, assaults and other misdemeanors that would result in arrest warrants if the defendants failed to appear in court.

Several Seabees and Marines took advantage of a similar program established during Operation Desert Storm.

“It was brought to our attention that several military individuals had pending cases with the court and that they were not able to take care of their obligations because they had been sent overseas,” Ordonez said. “We felt this program was needed to address that problem.”

Nearly 200 Seabees were expected to land in the African nation by last Friday. An additional 400 are expected to follow next month.