 |
|---|
| High School senior Stephen Kelsey. |
|
Teen Jailed Over Ticket He Had Already Paid
WSB-TV
August 1, 2007
Area: Atlanta
ATLANTA - An error by police caused a teenager to be briefly jailed over a traffic ticket he had already paid the fine for.
Stephen Kelsey, 17, a rising high school senior, had been playing soccer in Madrid and London and was arrested Monday when he returned to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after customs officials checked his passport.
The check revealed an outstanding arrest warrant for failure to appear in court on a ticket given for rolling through a stop sign. Kelsey was turned over to Atlanta police, who brought him to the Fulton County Jail.
But the teen had already paid the $175 fine.
"I'm trying to explain to them that I already paid this ticket, but, you know, they're not going to take my word for it," Kelsey told Channel 2.
"Somebody made a mistake," Kelsey said, "and here I am having to be handcuffed in front of my coaches, my mom, my brother and my teammates."
Marlene Kelsey, who was at the airport to pick up her son, frantically began working to get him released.
She got proof the initial court date had been rescheduled and the ticket paid, and went to the Fulton County Jail, then to Sandy Springs, whose police department issued the arrest warrant.
"The arresting officer was adamant that I call Sandy Springs," Marlene Kelsey said. "I went to the precinct and nobody was there. When I called the 'after hours' number, the phone rang, then cut off."
Sandy Springs police Lt. Steve Rose said the department did not have enough staff to man the desk and admitted the department was at fault.
"That warrant never should have been in the computer," Rose said. "We should have done something and we didn't."
Sandy Springs police contacted Fulton County just before Stephen was booked into the jail around 8 p.m. to tell them Stephen Kelsey should be released, Rose said.
"They sent us something but we did not receive the letter," said Sgt. Nikita Hightower, spokesperson for the Fulton County Sheriff's Department.
She said the county sent Sandy Springs a telex about 10:30 p.m. telling them that Stephen Kelsey was ready to be picked up. That's when they said they had sent the notice that wasn't received. When they sent the telex a second time, he was cleared for release.
Meanwhile, Stephen Kelsey was adjusting to sharing a cell with 30 men.
He said he was patted down with latex gloves, even though he told the officer he was allergic to latex. Kelsey said the officer told him that he better learn to be un-allergic in jail.
Kelsey said he was uneasy about sharing close quarters with inmates who appeared to be drug users.
"Most of the guys were cracked out," he said. "I sat next to a guy who talked for 45 minutes to an imaginary friend."
Eventually, Fulton County received word that Stephen Kelsey was not wanted by Sandy Springs police. After eight hours in jail, he was released around 4 a.m. Tuesday.
"Definitely our mistake, we're definitely making efforts now to make sure it doesn't happen again," said Steve Rose with the Sandy Springs Police Department.
"For something so minor, who would have believed all this?" Marlene Kelsey said.
Share your thoughts in the Forum
