A warrant doesn’t always mean an arrest says Morrow Co. DA Justin Nelson

By Terry Murry on Thursday, January 29th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

HEPPNER – Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson says issuing a warrant for people who fail to appear in court doesn’t always mean they’ll be jailed to await transport to the county from which the charges stem. Take the case of JD Easley of Bridge, Oregon.

Nelson said Easley was arrested in March of 2020 and charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, and unlawful possession of methamphetamine. He was found guilty.

“Not long after being found guilty, a probation violation was filed against Mr. Easley for basically not doing anything so far on probation – no treatment, no community service, no fines paid,” Nelson said.

Easley failed to appear in that case. Since then Nelson estimates there have been around 10 warrants issued for failure to appear on the above probation violation. On each occasion, he has been cited and released in his local jurisdiction. Nelson asked Morrow County Sheriff John Bowles if he could talk to the sheriff about the problem. It turns out the county has limited funds for jail beds and it was choosing to use those beds for more violent criminals.

“When Sheriff Bowles reached out, the sheriff was very open to helping us out and was surprised and shocked by how many times this defendant has been cited and released in their county,” Nelson said. “They changed it. Now, if Mr. Easley is picked up, there’s a note in there saying, ‘Take him to jail. Morrow County wants him on this.’”

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