studlymandingo
Commander
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2006
- Messages
- 2,716
I just opened a letter from an attorney in Texas; basically it stated that if I didn't send them $45.00 then a warrant would be issued for my arrest! On the back it referenced a citation issued on 11/08/1990 for a seatbelt violation, that's right 1990--16 years ago!
Long story short, my friend and I were moving from Los Angeles back to Nashville, TN; we were 21 years old and everything we owned was packed in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme. My friend was asleep in the passengers seat reclined with no seatbelt on; I saw the officer looking straight at us coming the other direction, he did a 180 in the median, smoke boiling from his tires as he sped through traffic to pull us over. I was given a ticket for $45. There were cars pulled over every 1/2 mile or so...none with Texas plates (out of towners passing through would not likely appear in court to contest a BS charge). I was already accutely aware of my actions, careful not to disobey any known traffic laws. Less than 1 mile from where I received the seatbelt violation, another cop dropped in behind me, I set the cruise control for 2 mph below the speed limit; the guy never left my bumper. about 10 miles down the road, a semi that was in the right lane started to come over into my lane to pass a slow moving vehicle, before the semi had all of his tires over the broken white line, the blues came on behind me, I was pulled over and cited for "following too closely", a $55 citation. At the time, I was a college student, playing music for my income $100.00 was a ton of money at the time; I paid the $55 citation, and mailed a letter to Judge Haven Dysart in Shamrock TX telling of my plight and asking for a payment plan for the additional $45. I never received a response, and forgot about it until one fateful day 2 years later.
I had been out on the lake with some friends and my girlfriend, we were in the band van and I had long hair. A cop walked up to the van where we were loading the boat and asked my girlfriend to step aside. He proceeded to ask her if she was being held against her will (she was helping me load the boat when he came up) she responded that we had been dating for almost 2 years, and she was perfectly safe, he asked her twice more, then asked us both for ID which he took back to the patrol car. Nearly 45 minutes later (no communication from the deputy) 5 other Sherriff's cars roll up, lights blazing and surround the van. I am asked via megaphone to step out of the van, hands above my head and get on the ground. I am arrested, and taken to another county (where my license was registered) for driving on a suspended license. It cost me over $1100.00 to get my license reinstated, there were "document fees" from the state of Texas for having to mail information to Tennessee to the tune of $435.00 (apparently they were hand delivered by an hourly wage guy who must have walked them there) there was a "head injury fee" that apparently went into a pool for victims of car accidents, there were court costs, reinstatement fees, and of course, the original fine; all of this had to be paid in order for me to get my license reinstated.
This all took place in 1993, this was my first and only arrest, and I have managed to get just a few speeding tickets since then, all of which were paid in a timely manner. Today I get this notice in the mail stating that if this is not paid, I will have an arrest warrant issued by the court (same judge as 16 years ago). I called the attorney, they said they could only take payment and referred me to the judge's office. I called the judge's office, and was promptly put on the phone with Judge Haven Dysart himself! The man would absolutely not let me finish ONE sentence! Bottom line, regardless of the fact that I could never have gotten my license reinstated if the ticket had not been satisfied, I had to pay the $45. Now it is not a question of the money $45 won't even put 15 gallons of gas in my 70 gallon boat gas tank, it is a matter of principle. This cost me a ton of money 15 years ago!!! Now I have no choice but to send the b@$t@rd$ the money, or I may have to go through it all again! What keeps this from happening in another 16 years? Judge Dysart informed me there is no statute of limitations in Texas, am I going to have to keep up with a receipt for the next 30 or 40 years?
It all goes back to the reason I was pulled over to begin with...MONEY! There were cars literally pulled over every half mile or so...NONE with Texas plates, they know that someone from Tennessee or Georgia or any other state hours away will appear in court to contest a BS fine, they just pay it an go on with their lives...or so they think.
Keep your receipts from Texas citation payments, you never know when it will resurface!!!
Long story short, my friend and I were moving from Los Angeles back to Nashville, TN; we were 21 years old and everything we owned was packed in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme. My friend was asleep in the passengers seat reclined with no seatbelt on; I saw the officer looking straight at us coming the other direction, he did a 180 in the median, smoke boiling from his tires as he sped through traffic to pull us over. I was given a ticket for $45. There were cars pulled over every 1/2 mile or so...none with Texas plates (out of towners passing through would not likely appear in court to contest a BS charge). I was already accutely aware of my actions, careful not to disobey any known traffic laws. Less than 1 mile from where I received the seatbelt violation, another cop dropped in behind me, I set the cruise control for 2 mph below the speed limit; the guy never left my bumper. about 10 miles down the road, a semi that was in the right lane started to come over into my lane to pass a slow moving vehicle, before the semi had all of his tires over the broken white line, the blues came on behind me, I was pulled over and cited for "following too closely", a $55 citation. At the time, I was a college student, playing music for my income $100.00 was a ton of money at the time; I paid the $55 citation, and mailed a letter to Judge Haven Dysart in Shamrock TX telling of my plight and asking for a payment plan for the additional $45. I never received a response, and forgot about it until one fateful day 2 years later.
I had been out on the lake with some friends and my girlfriend, we were in the band van and I had long hair. A cop walked up to the van where we were loading the boat and asked my girlfriend to step aside. He proceeded to ask her if she was being held against her will (she was helping me load the boat when he came up) she responded that we had been dating for almost 2 years, and she was perfectly safe, he asked her twice more, then asked us both for ID which he took back to the patrol car. Nearly 45 minutes later (no communication from the deputy) 5 other Sherriff's cars roll up, lights blazing and surround the van. I am asked via megaphone to step out of the van, hands above my head and get on the ground. I am arrested, and taken to another county (where my license was registered) for driving on a suspended license. It cost me over $1100.00 to get my license reinstated, there were "document fees" from the state of Texas for having to mail information to Tennessee to the tune of $435.00 (apparently they were hand delivered by an hourly wage guy who must have walked them there) there was a "head injury fee" that apparently went into a pool for victims of car accidents, there were court costs, reinstatement fees, and of course, the original fine; all of this had to be paid in order for me to get my license reinstated.
This all took place in 1993, this was my first and only arrest, and I have managed to get just a few speeding tickets since then, all of which were paid in a timely manner. Today I get this notice in the mail stating that if this is not paid, I will have an arrest warrant issued by the court (same judge as 16 years ago). I called the attorney, they said they could only take payment and referred me to the judge's office. I called the judge's office, and was promptly put on the phone with Judge Haven Dysart himself! The man would absolutely not let me finish ONE sentence! Bottom line, regardless of the fact that I could never have gotten my license reinstated if the ticket had not been satisfied, I had to pay the $45. Now it is not a question of the money $45 won't even put 15 gallons of gas in my 70 gallon boat gas tank, it is a matter of principle. This cost me a ton of money 15 years ago!!! Now I have no choice but to send the b@$t@rd$ the money, or I may have to go through it all again! What keeps this from happening in another 16 years? Judge Dysart informed me there is no statute of limitations in Texas, am I going to have to keep up with a receipt for the next 30 or 40 years?
It all goes back to the reason I was pulled over to begin with...MONEY! There were cars literally pulled over every half mile or so...NONE with Texas plates, they know that someone from Tennessee or Georgia or any other state hours away will appear in court to contest a BS fine, they just pay it an go on with their lives...or so they think.
Keep your receipts from Texas citation payments, you never know when it will resurface!!!
