Warrant Leaves Md. Roofer Dazed, Jailed

Washington Post ^ | Sunday, July 25, 2004 | Paul Schwartzman

[FoxPro]

The Caribbean cruise ship docked at Port Canaveral, Fla., that morning, and Patrick and Bernadette Clerkin and their three children awoke tanned and relaxed and ready for their trip home to Maryland.

There was a knock at their cabin door. Patrick Clerkin, owner of a Brandywine roofing company, was about to take a shower, so his wife answered to find three U.S. customs agents.

Politely and almost apologetically, the agents announced that they were there to arrest Patrick Clerkin.

"This must be some kind of mistake," Bernadette Clerkin told herself as the children giggled at seeing their churchgoing father being led away.

It wasn't a mistake, and today, nearly three months later, Clerkin, 41, finds himself in a Florida jail still.

The charge dates back more than two decades to his less-than-glorious years as a hard-drinking teenager, when a police officer in Pensacola, Fla., arrested him for stealing a pair of hubcaps.

[glorgau]

All mine were arrests and not convictions. ;-)

Probably have a ton of parking tickets somewhere.

[cinFLA]

This same thing is happening to me. ... This is not justice. This is despotism.

You mean you were sentence to a fine and probation and they ran without paying either?

[FoxPro]

I ended up in jail several times in my youth. I hope there are none of these waiting out there for me.

If you ever go back to where you grew up. Drive very carefully. As soon as a cop says "can I see your license" things can really go bad. Better yet, just stay away.

[FoxPro]

You mean you were sentence to a fine and probation and they ran without paying either?

Now, what I am saying is that they should have thrown me in jail 20 years ago, when I deserved it.

I should go to jail in my 40's, just because your computer system didnt work as well in my teens? Please. I am a completly different person now. I have raised a whole family in the meantime.

[SAJ]

I'd be quite shocked if your state had no statute of limitations on misdemeanor petty theft (it **was** a petty amount under the then-statutory limit, wasn't it?). Easiest question in the world to answer, either by your attorney, a PD, or a little work on Lexis or WestLaw.

[FoxPro]

I'd be quite shocked if your state had no statute of limitations on misdemeanor petty theft

There is no statute of limitations on probation violations in most states. A judge can throw you in jail for a violation when you were 18 when you are 95 years old. Go figure.

[SAJ]

Sorry, it wasn't clear to me that your situation involved probation. It is now. The judge is a horse's ass.

[tracer]

FoxPro hasn't created an about page

No wonder..... 8~)

[steplock]

Back on Christmas Eve 1975, I was hauled into Federal District Court for a parking ticket that I received on a "federal reservation" (govt facilities).

The judge was nice enough to ONLY charge me $100 (quite a bit for an E-4/Cpl) and threaten me with the rest of the "normal" fine if he saw me again.

Well, in March 1976 (3 months later) I got another ticket. Luckily, I had orders, so I skipped the state and went to my next duty station.

Believe it or not - I still worry about getting arrested for that parking ticket since that judge (aka scumbag-lawyer) probably issued a warrant for me 28 years ago!

[yarddog]

I agree that a minor offense committed many years ago should not result in an arrest and imprisonment.

Now murder or something similar is a different thing.

[FoxPro]

Believe it or not - I still worry about getting arrested for that parking ticket since that judge (aka scumbag-lawyer) probably issued a warrant for me 28 years ago!

Dude, your in trouble. I helped write these computer systems. You may be arrested after scanning your discount card at the local grocery store. It is getting that bad.

[BlazingArizona]

So you believe that criminals should not be punished?

Mmmmm - boot leather tastes great, doesn't it?

[cinFLA]

"So you believe that criminals should not be punished?"

Mmmmm - boot leather tastes great, doesn't it?

That is one dumb response.

[cinFLA]

I agree that a minor offense committed many years ago should not result in an arrest and imprisonment.

He was a vagrant that lived by stealing. He didn't pay the fine and violated probation. After he left he was involved in several non-minor offenses.

[cinFLA]

The judge is a horse's ass.

Don't you believe that one should serve his sentence?

[Axenolith]

Who in the hell would use their real information on a store discount card???

[SAJ]

After 20-odd years, I don't really think it serves any public purpose to jail an otherwise productive citizen who has not fallen afoul of the legal system since the original offence (in this case, of a probation violation). One must ask about the incompetence of the court and probation system that NO (evidently) effective attempt was made to find the probation violator after 3 months, 6 months, a year, 2 years, etc. Certainly, one can see exceptions here; had the person left the state, committed sundry other crimes, then returned to the original sentencing jurisdiction after X years, why I'd absolutely lock him up.

Not, however, in a case with the facts as presented (no bet if the facts as stated aren't facts at all).

[FoxPro]

Who in the hell would use their real information on a store discount card???

Good point!