CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi Police Department cited a number of people for violating Nueces Co.’s stay-at-home order when it was in place.
Between March 30 and April 13, CCPD cited 30 people for violating the order.
Deputy Chief Billy Breedlove told KRIS 6 News the department responded to nearly 450 calls for possible violators. That number went up as April went on, but officers gave many of those violators verbal warnings before issuing a citation.
"At some point, you've educated a person, you've warned a person several times or a business, and there's nothing left to do but to take enforcement and take action,” said Breedlove.
Many of the calls were for nonessential businesses remaining open such as game rooms and gyms. On April 5, 16 people were cited at a game room on the 4600 hundred block of Weber Road near Gollihar.
"They (the owners and managers) had sort of been working in a clandestine mode, were where they were having people park around the back,” Breedlove said. “So no one should've been taken by surprise that they were going to get a citation.”
On March 30, three citations were given to people at a game room on the 3200 block of Baldwin.
"We were out there several times -- days before that, (we were) warning the owners or the managers who were opening it, that they were nonessential and they were not allowed to be open, but they continued to operate,” he said.
Three more people were cited at the All Good Fitness gym downtown on Chaparral Street.
"The officers were checking it, going by and these people, I mean you can see them through the window,” Breedlove said. “And again we made several warnings. We contacted the owner and told them the gym had to be shut down.”
When KRIS 6 News was recording video of the gym Friday afternoon, a handful of people still were inside working out.
However, for those who did obey the order, Breedlove is thankful.
"We believe, overall, that it was successful through the stay-at-home order, but we do have to do our job," he said. "What we saw our role as, was going out and making sure everyone was educated that everyone was being safe. That was our overall objective and I believe we met that."
Each person was cited $581, totaling more than $17,000 that will be collected by the Municipal Court.