A warrant out for my arrest!?!?!

[Belok]

A bit more than a year ago, my gf and I decide to take a roadie.

We drove for a couple hours, parked by the river, and like complete morons, fell asleep in the car with her glass piece sitting in the cup holder.

We wake up around 3am to the *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* of some hick-ass local cop on our window.

The second I roll the window down, he reaches in, pulls out the bowl, decides its fresh, and activates "douchebag cop" mode.

After a few threats to "call in the dogs" "haul us both off to jail" etc etc, we decide to just give him the sack of weed. Maybe it was a mistake to give it up, but with these hick cops, sometimes hiding behind your rights can just piss them off even more.

I hand him the stemmiest, seediest, ugliest sack you've ever seen. There couldnt have been more than 1/2 a gram left either.

After another 5min lecture/ego stroke session, he decides that "there's probably less than an ounce in this bag" (o rly?) and he's just going to write me a ticket for possession.

In the end, I was given a ticket for possession, and my gf was given one for paraphenalia.



In the following weeks, my gf received her letter with a court date on it, but I never did. I decided to go with her to see if I was on the list for that day - I wasnt. Gf got off with a fine or something minor...but my ticket was still unresolved.

I went to the clerks office to see if anything had been turned in with my name on it, or if they had a court date scheduled, or anything. Explained my whole situation to them, etc - They could not find my name anywhere in their records. They even mentioned that it could be a misdemeanor for the officer that gave us the ticket if he didn't turn it in. (My gf was there to witness this exchange)

I didnt feel like I was completely out of the clear until a few months later when my license expired. But even then, after going to the BMV, they had no record of the occurance and reissued my license with no resistence.


There was never a single letter sent to my house about a court date, missing a court date, any warrants for my arrest, anything. I havent received 1 piece of paper about this encounter aside from the one ticket I was given >1yr ago.

I just learned about it today. The police had to come out to my Dad's house (long unrelated story), and they told him "Do you know that you have a warrant out for your arrest?". He had them doublecheck their computer, and it was actually me.



The point of this thread is to get some advice from people who may have been in a similar situation before. I'm afraid to even go down to the court house, in fear that they'd just lock me up the second I show up.

Do I need a lawyer? What possible punishment could I be facing? What is the next step I should take? Has anybody else experienced a situation like this before??


Thanks all


Cliff notes: Ticket for possession. Never received court date. Clerk said I had no record/nothing turned in. 1 year later I randomly find out there is a warrant for my arrest.



***edit***

Also, aside from a couple speeding tickets, my record is squeaky clean. Hopefully this should help my case...

[By-Tor]

you already answered your question (why it happened)...

[ QUOTE ]
and they told him "Do you know that you have a warrant out for your arrest?". He had them doublecheck their computer, and it was actually me.

[/ QUOTE ]


if they thought it was his today, they thought it was his yesterday...and the day before that...and so on...

your dad ignored it/never put 2+2 together and now you are going to federal pound you in the ass prison.

sorry.

[Belok]

[ QUOTE ]
you already answered your question (why it happened)...

[ QUOTE ]
and they told him "Do you know that you have a warrant out for your arrest?". He had them doublecheck their computer, and it was actually me.

[/ QUOTE ]


if they thought it was his today, they thought it was his yesterday...and the day before that...and so on...

your dad ignored it/never put 2+2 together and now you are going to federal pound you in the ass prison.

sorry.

[/ QUOTE ]

They were at his house for a completely unrelated matter (he wasnt in any trouble), and when they looked up his address, my warrant popped up. I havent lived there for a year and a half, and have legally changed my address since then...

He didnt receive any letters about court dates or warrants either.

The cops only thought it was him because of the last name. If I happened to be visiting my dads house that night though, I'd have been arrested.

[fish2plus2]

America, the new nazi germany.

[Peter Harris]

[ QUOTE ]
your dad ignored it/never put 2+2 together

[/ QUOTE ]

now that's just plain confusing for OOTers.

[RiverFenix]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
your dad ignored it/never put 2+2 together

[/ QUOTE ]

now that's just plain confusing for OOTers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thinly veiled brag his dad isnt Sklansky?

[By-Tor]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
your dad ignored it/never put 2+2 together

[/ QUOTE ]

now that's just plain confusing for OOTers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thinly veiled brag his dad isnt Sklansky?

[/ QUOTE ]


if his dad would have posted the question here instead of getting drunk and ignoring the mail, the OP wouldn't be getting his ass pounded in prison soon.

[bluef0x]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
your dad ignored it/never put 2+2 together

[/ QUOTE ]

now that's just plain confusing for OOTers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thinly veiled brag his dad isnt Sklansky?

[/ QUOTE ]


if his dad would have posted the question here instead of getting drunk and ignoring the mail, the OP wouldn't be getting his ass pounded in prison soon.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've seen at least 30 people with failure to appears plea guilty, I think 0 of them actually went to prison. This includes probably 30 poor people, not being poor = easier to avoid prison.

EDIT: I totally forgot about the possession charge and have no idea what it carries. Sounds like OP will have at least 2 warrants out for his arrest now. The FTA should be easy to drop though [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Belok]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
your dad ignored it/never put 2+2 together

[/ QUOTE ]

now that's just plain confusing for OOTers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thinly veiled brag his dad isnt Sklansky?

[/ QUOTE ]


if his dad would have posted the question here instead of getting drunk and ignoring the mail, the OP wouldn't be getting his ass pounded in prison soon.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm pretty sure all of this is just banter/humor, but in response (because it does matter)

I told my dad about the ticket the day after it happened. He has kept his eye out for any court-related mail just in case anything came for me.

NOTHING was sent - absolutely nothing. Neither myself or my dad have received any information about this case whatsoever.

[bluef0x]

I had a warrant out for my arrest for a failure to appear also. Here's what happened:

I'm driving to school during finals week in December. I never speed, always use my blinker, pretty much don't ever want to get pulled over again. So I'm like WTF? and pull into the nearest parking lot. Some young officer comes over and says "Do you know it's illegal in California to have your front windows tinted?" I said "Yes, but I don't think they are. I just bought this truck used... how do you check if they are tinted?" My front windows are BARELY tinted, my rear ones are pitch black. Also, I look around just in the parking lot I'm in and every single vehicle had darker front windows than mine.

He asks for my license and registration blah blah blah. Goes back to his car for a bit, and comes back to ask me if I still live in Stockton. I tell him that I have an apartment up here in Sac for school and that is still my parents address. So he says "OK, well I'm not going to write you up about your windows (they probably are legal, douchecop). Instead, I'm just giving you this (hands me yellow ticket). There's no fine, no court, no anything. You just have to go to DMV within 2 weeks and change your address, you'll get a little brown card with proof that you changed and that's all you need to do. Good luck in school."

So I'm thinking w/e, big deal. I go to the DMV near my parents house 2 days later and change my address. I'm done with school and I'm spend the rest of my break down there. I come back January 2nd to a letter stating that I had a court date on December 22nd or had to pay $10 before then. Obviously I did neither since I never got this letter (which I would have received at my parents house if I didn't change my address). I'm like OK? Cop said I didn't have to do anything but change... w/e. Two weeks later I get a "WE HAVE A WARRANT OUT FOR YOUR ARREST, SON" in the mail. I think it gave me a new court date for the failure to appear or I had to set one up.

You go to the courthouse, they have you watch some stupid movie with a chuck-norris lookalike informing you of your rights. It makes little sense and most of the place is filled with mexicans and russians, but this thing is only in English. Here's the tricky part... when it's your turn to get up, you only have 3 word choices to say to the judge. If you start talking randomly, she assumes you plead guilty. This was a serious shock and I was fkn scared because I didn't know what word I was supposed to use (Guilty, Not Guilty, or _____ (speak to the DA, forgot it).

I speak to the DA, explain everything above, and she writes it off and I just have to pay the $10 I was supposed to earlier. Super easy. I'm guessing you can do the same thing with your FTA. Just have your dad write down his statement or something and explain your story to the DA.