A chance for fugitives to start over

William Costly has had a "black cloud" hanging over his head for years, though the 36-year-old Newark resident blames no one but himself.

Costly had open warrants out for his arrest in Essex and Union counties because of unpaid traffic tickets dating back to 1992. The fines piled up and the long shadow followed, he said, preventing him from getting a driver's license and a good job.

"I can't get the job I want. Can't do nothing with my record," he said.

Finally, Costly decided to get his life in order.

"I had no choice in the matter," he said.

On Wednesday morning, Costly walked into Bethany Baptist Church in Newark and surrendered to police. He did so on the first day of a four-day law enforcement effort that encourages fugitives with open warrants for nonviolent crimes to surrender, and most likely avoid jail time.

The program, called "Fugitive Safe Surrender," continues from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and tomorrow at the West Market Street church. Court cases are heard at the nearby Priory building, headquarters of the outreach group New Community Corp.

Costly was in line by 6:30 a.m. and was one of the first to get processed and grab a chair in the church gym. There, he waited a couple of hours as hundreds of other fugitives filed in.

Costly, who learned about the program through a teacher at his daughter's charter school, had racked up 20 traffic tickets over the years. Driving without a license during many of those police stops, Costly would be arrested and spend two or three days in jail.

By avoiding the fines, he acknowledged digging himself deeper into a financial hole because he was unable to land a job. Now, Costly wants a job as a tanker truck driver and believes safe surrender is the first step toward that goal.

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