AUBURN - Some select area residents went to the Holiday Inn in Auburn expecting to get a free television Monday evening. Instead, they received an unwelcome holiday surprise - a pair of handcuffs and a trip the Auburn Police Department.

The APD carried out a two-hour sting operation between 5 and 7 p.m. at the hotel. During the operation, a team of police arrested 14 people for outstanding warrants that included a drug-related felony, issuing bad checks, outstanding fines, failure to appear in court and other charges and violations.

The people who were arrested had each received a personalized letter informing them that they were the winners of a 42-inch, flat-screen Panasonic television in a sweepstakes. The letter stated that they needed to go to the hotel at the specified time in order to claim their prize.

The police department sent the letters to about 250 individuals with outstanding warrants issued since 2005. There are currently between 600 and 700 outstanding warrants that have been issued by the department, according to the APD.

Upon arrival, each person was brought to a table decorated with a Santa hat and manned by plain-clothes officers, who checked their “invitation” and identification. The person was then led into a conference room, only to find a group of APD officers.

By that point, most of the smiles turned upside down.

“They have been coming in spurts, one every couple minutes,” APD Capt. Brian Neagle said during the operation. “They are obviously shocked when they come in.”

Once an officer informed each person of the arrest, the person would wait 10 to 15 minutes in the conference room, which held two large, wrapped packages and an actual big-screen television that people could see upon approach. Officers would take the people in groups to the police department, where they were arraigned in front of a judge.

Approximately 10 APD officers participated at the hotel, while roughly 10 more were involved at the station, Neagle said.

Two of the people were remanded and escorted by Cayuga County Sheriff's Office deputies to the county jail, according to the APD. Two people were given appearance tickets to Auburn City Court, three were released after paying fines they owed and seven were released on their own recognizance, according to police.

Neagle said he was pleased with the operation. None of the people tried to resist arrest, and almost everyone was cooperative, he said.

And while the number of people arrested is small compared to the number of letters sent out, Neagle said that 14 executed warrants in one night is a great number.

The department executed 19 warrants during the entire month of November, according the APD's most recent activity report. Most of those people are picked up on traffic stops, are found when an officer is responding to a call or simply turn themselves in, Neagle said.

“We just don't have the luxury of being able to send two guys on every warrant,” he said. “That is 14 more warrants than we had yesterday.”

While the police department carried this out, the idea came from City Manager Mark Palesh, who was present for the first hour. Palesh said Niagra Falls carried out a similar operation while he was working there.

Palesh said when the regular methods used by the police are not working, it can be effective to try something a little more inventive.

“When everything else fails, you have to get tougher,” Palesh said. “I hate to be a Scrooge, but these people have not paid on what they owe. This is something that they just don't expect.”

Palesh said he worked hard to keep any word from getting to the public to ensure this would be unexpected. The police department will probably not undertake a similar operation any time soon, he added.

“This is going to be on people's minds for a while,” Palesh said.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net