Tenn. sheriff looks to serve 80-year-old warrant from 1928

Tenn. sheriff looks to serve 80-year-old warrant from 1928

www.sfgate.com

The Carter County Sheriff's Department is trying to serve an 80-year-old warrant for the arrest of a man who wrote a $30 bad check, although unsure if he is alive. The warrant, issued in August 1928, calls for the arrest of J.A. Rowland. It says he owes $30 for the bad check, $2 for the arrest fee and 50 cents each for the affidavit and warrant.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I swear , what else now days. Are the states hurting for revenue so bad they resort to this? Why is this woman even responsible for another mans debt. One of those cases of this is what the detectives are working on with tax payers money? She probably does not even know or understand what it is all about. Incredible.

www.sfgate.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I would think the statutes of limitations would apply here. Seriously a warrant from 1928?

I'm sure a public defender could get her off on this one.

The justice system is not hard to beat, most of the time people would get off if they wouldn't take the plea deal.

Especially in the day and age of TV shows like CSI, juries expect to see evidence like in those shows. The police know this, instead they decide to scare the people into making a plea deal.

Wouldn't it be even more hysterical if the only reason the check bounced in the first place is because the bank it was written on went belly up with all the man's savings?

As they say down south: I do declare!

reply to post by amatrine


Well..$30 dollars, 80 some years ago??? You could buy a Horse, a House for that kind of money!!!

Of course, $30 today gets you a gallon of milk, some cheese, and a dozen eggs....along with some fresh veggies...maybe some frozen hashbrowns....just enough for breakfast.....


THIS story does NOT hold water....80 years ago? That would be 1909.....when a cup of coffee cost, maybe, 2 cents.

reply to post by weedwhacker


80years ago would be 1929... unless you are stuck in the 80's

this is ridiculous.

[edit on 2/27/2009 by cRiTiC]

reply to post by cRiTiC


Yeah, and in 1929....$30 might have been the monthly wage!!!!

AND that was a GOOD wage, in that era, circa 1929!

[edit on 2/27/0909 by weedwhacker]

[edit on 2/27/0909 by weedwhacker]

Originally posted by weedwhacker
reply to post by amatrine

 

Well..$30 dollars, 80 some years ago??? You could buy a Horse, a House for that kind of money!!!

80 years ago? A house? A horse? You are aware we are talking 30 dollars arent you?

In 1920 the average price of a house was $7,809. In 1929 im willing to bet it was a bit more than that!

Here just take a look at this webstie that gives the average price of things through out the 1920's so you dont look so silly next time.

answers.yahoo.com...

By the way, 80 years ago is 1929 NOT 1909.

All things considered It is ridiculous to even attempt to enforce this warrant. Just enforcing it would cost more than 30 bucks so its not worth it for anyone!

Leave this persons family alone. I say 'persons family because chances are this guy is dead by now. I mean. this guy was old enough to have a checking account in 1929, lets say he was 18. That would make 92 years old! If this guy is even alive, are they really going to arrest a 92 year old man and for bouncing a check 80 years ago?

THere has got to be a statute of limitations on this anyway. If this guy is alive and they actually try to prosecute, all he is going to have to do is go into the court room look at the judge once and say two simple words....

COME ON!

Leave this poor guy and his family alone! It wouldnt even be worth it because they would lose money trying to find this guy....

If they have that low of a crime rate that the sheriff has time to waste looking for someone who may not even be alive over an 80 year old warrant, I think I want to move there. All I can say is he must be pretty bored if he's trying to serve that warrant.

I would hate to see all the dust bunnies under the cabinet where that was found sitting there that long,lol Maybe they need to invest in a cleaning service

urrent Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes told The Elizabethton Star he is still under a legal obligation to find Rowland.

Sounds to me like it's more of a case of a by-the-books Sheriff who is following the letter of the law.

I live in Carter County and i worked for the Sheriff department 27 years ago. Sheriff Mathes is obligated to attempt to serve any warrant forwarded to his department, be it civil or criminal. Our Sheriff's department is one of the best functioning offices in the state. The Sheriff and the department are honorable decent people and are respected by the entire community. Carter County is located in the mountains of east Tennessee and has a population of a little over fifty thousand people.

Originally posted by sir_chancealot
And everyone wonders why the first people to be beheaded will be law enforcement officers?

edit: I have to add: For everything except MURDER the statute of limitations is 7 years.

Let it go, greedy money-hungry vultures.

[edit on 28-2-2009 by sir_chancealot]

actually there is NO SOL for a warrant....warrants stay good for life or until served. So they either have to verify he is dead or serve the warrant. So for all of you who "know it all" you don't really know much. And the above statement is....well I'll let you decide the level of brainpower it takes to make that comment.

Anyway..here on ATS you members are ALWAYS crying how cops aren't judges or jury's...you always say we should just do our jobs and let the judicial system work it out, due process, etc...well here is the perfect example...the sheriff has a job to do, serve a warrant...who are YOU GUYS to decide that this man should now just be forgotten after breaking the law...regardless of when it was?????? Double standard...typical on this website.

Originally posted by debris765nju
Our Sheriff's department is one of the best functioning offices in the state.

Then how come it misplaced an arrest warrant for 80 years?



Seriously, there's no point in attempting to serve a warrant for a crime for which the statute of limitations ran out some 73 years earlier. There's a difference between going by the books and just plain wasting your time.

actually there is NO SOL for a warrant....warrants stay good for life or until served. So they either have to verify he is dead or serve the warrant.

Aah, the plot thickens.

Double standard...typical on this website.

ATS has many members, rcwj75. They don't all speak with one voice.



[edit on 28-2-2009 by Tuning Spork]

Originally posted by Tuning Spork

Double standard...typical on this website.

ATS has many members, rcwj75. They don't all speak with one voice.

Then by all means share that attitude with the members who believe ALL cops are pigs, nazi's, abusers, idiots, dirty, etc....it happens EVERY time a cop thread is posted...when the half brained members start to realize that we as LEO's aren't all the same then MAYBE they can actually post something worth reading.

OK...

No one is "Flaming" anyone yet, so let's keep this civil and "On Topic"

The law on Statute of Limitations is specific to each state...

South Carolina has no SOL period..While Delaware and Maryland in fact do.

Also as previously stated, there is no SOL on warrants in any state I know of..

Still and all, this is a foolish waste of manpower and resources.

Semper

reply to post by Tuning Spork


You must have missed the opening paragraph, the warrant was lost in Georgia, was found and forwarded to Tennessee for service. The person who made this mistake eighty years ago in no way reflects upon Law Enforcement systems of today. There is no basis to bash the people who keep our streets safe. Chris Mathes is the Sheriff of MY county and the laws are enforced fairly and more importantly, politely.

I wanna hear what the judge has to say about this.
It will ikely be thrown out of court.

They ought to just get real ignorant and drag a casket in for the hearing and this mess would be complete.

Maybe the corpse will get off for time in solitary.

I am not a cop hater by any means. I just also think this is a waste of time. After all those years, if this guy is still alive, I mean , what a waste of time. Are they going to charge 80 years worth of interest ?

Also they would have to go by the what the law was on the books at that time.
When you are charged with a crime, you have to go by what the penalty is for that crime at the time the law was written for that charge. Any way they can even find that out? I also suspect it would be thrown out.

Lets say in 1929 the law was hanging, I mean come on, are they going to do that?( not saying it was, just using as an example)

I had a charge once and it was in the 80's . No idea I had a warrant. Found out many years later at a traffic stop. They went by the 80's law which was a lot harsher that in the 90's when I found out about it. I fought it, and in the end it was dropped, but even though the penalties were less now in the 90's for that charge they had to go by 80's laws and I was facing 15 years in prison for something that would be a ticket now.