News

Actions

Woman receives fine for 24-year-old ticket

Posted

KIEFER, OK (KTUL/CNN) – An Oklahoma woman was shocked to receive a letter saying there’s a warrant out for her arrest because of a 24-year-old ticket.

Sandy Honeycutt says she paid the safety inspection ticket shortly after getting it in 1993, but the city of Kiefer, OK, claims the woman failed to pay the 24-year-old fine.

Honeycutt received a letter Saturday informing her a bench warrant is out for her arrest and that she owes the city $228.15.

"I didn't think it was me. I thought it was actually somebody else,” Honeycutt said.

Though it turned out the city had the right person, Honeycutt says the other information is wrong.

"I got the safety inspection, went to court, showed them the safety inspection receipt and paid court costs and left – 24 years ago," Honeycutt said.

The city says the only way they can confirm Honeycutt’s story is if she has a receipt or documentation from the bank showing she paid the fee.

"She could always just have herself placed on the docket and come explain that to the judge," said Chief Johnny O’Mara with Kiefer Police.

O’Mara says Honeycutt isn’t the first to complain about a citation but that most people had just forgotten about the charge.

But Honeycutt says she didn’t forget.

"I don't understand why they never sent me anything this whole time," Honeycutt said.

The city didn’t know about these warrants until 2015, O’Mara says.

"When our technology changed, we were able to collate all of these warrants and put them into a central file. Then we started realizing there was this big backlog," O’Mara said.

O’Mara says they started handing out letters instead of arresting people, and there’s no statute of limitations on a warrant.

Honeycutt plans to fight the charge. She says she’s working with a lawyer to resolve the issue.

Copyright 2017 KTUL via CNN. All rights reserved.