Reviewed on: April 28,2026

Arrested in Missouri With Open Warrants in Washington State?

My friend was arrested in Wright County, Missouri, for weed and meth, but she also has pending felony charges and possibly warrants in Washington. What does that mean for her?

Asked: December 31, 2019
Author: SHERRI
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She is in a complicated position involving two separate jurisdictions, and the way it plays out depends on how aggressively Washington pursues the outstanding matter.

First, Missouri will process the current arrest on its own terms. The drug charges in Wright County will move through the Missouri courts, and she will be arraigned, potentially have bail set, and face whatever prosecution follows. The severity of the outcome in Missouri depends on her criminal history, the quantities involved, and how the county prosecutor approaches the case.

The bigger complication is Washington. If she has active felony warrants there, Missouri can hold her on those after the local charges are resolved, or Washington can request extradition at any point. Warrants do not go away because someone gets arrested somewhere else. If Washington files an extradition request, Missouri will honor it. The timing of that depends on how quickly Washington acts and what resources they are willing to commit to bringing her back.

If the Washington charges are pending without a warrant, those cases are still waiting for her regardless of what happens in Missouri. She will need to face them eventually.

The best she can do right now is get a defense attorney engaged in Missouri immediately, and ideally have someone look into the status of the Washington matters so she knows exactly what she is facing before the court dates start compounding.

https://www.inmateaid.com/ask-the-inmate/arrested-in-missouri-with-open-warrants-in-washington-state#answer
Accepted Answer Date Created: January 01,2020