NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Brandon Touchstone had been carrying a heavy burden for months with an outstanding warrant that weighed on his mind daily and worried his family constantly.
"I didn't know what to do. I had just moved to Indiana and I had an outstanding warrant," Touchstone said.
The warrant stemmed from a traffic stop in Davidson County when he was pulled over by Metro Nashville police for a drag racing charge. After missing his August court date, a warrant was issued for his arrest in September for failure to appear.
When Touchstone heard about Nashville's Safe Surrender weekend at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, he felt safe enough to finally address the situation. Davidson County judges promised favorable consideration for people surrendering on nonviolent crimes ahead of the holidays.
"I talked to a judge and they got it cleared for me," Touchstone said.
The relief was so profound that Touchstone returned the next day this time as a volunteer to help others in similar situations.
Over the two-day event, judges cleared 630 court-related matters. Davidson County officials say more than 40 people surrendered with 77 outstanding warrants combined. Four weren't able to go home immediately. One was placed on a 12 hour hold and three others had warrants in other counties.
For Touchstone, taking that leap of faith meant more than just clearing his name.
"It helps your family later on to not worry and stress about you, but it also helps you as an individual. If you are running or you feel scared, there is nothing to be scared of," Touchstone said.
Have you or someone you know dealt with outstanding warrants? Watch Kim Rafferty's full report to see how Nashville's Safe Surrender program is helping people find relief and second chances. Share your thoughts or story ideas with Kim at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com.
In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Kim Rafferty. When using this tool, both Kim and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team verified all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter.
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