rockin'robin
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NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
Littering in Tennessee is no laughing matter and has serious legal consequences, but should you go to court for tossing something as small as a cigarette butt out the window?
One Antioch woman missed three days of work and spent hundreds of dollars on legal help trying to keep herself out of jail because she said the officer wrote down the wrong code violation.
Heidi Bowers, 33, was running an errand for work on Aug. 24. She drove her husband’s car that day, which doesn’t have an ashtray.
She was driving down Murfreesboro Road when she tossed out her cigarette butt.
In a panic moment, my cigarette was running down, and I’m like, ‘There’s no ashtray in this car. What am I doing?’” said Bowers. “I ended up tossing it out the window. I absolutely admit I was wrong. Lo and behold the lights started spinning behind me.”
The wife and mother said she hadn’t been pulled over in years, so she thought what happened next might be new procedure.
“He asked me to step out of the car, which at that point was very weird,” explained Bowers. “He asked me to put my fingerprint on this little scanner he had. Then he asked me to back up and take my picture.
“The whole time I was thinking ‘this is new,’ but I haven’t been pulled over in a while, I’ll go with it.
“Then he said ‘Today you’ve been arrested for littering. Criminal littering.’”
The officer told her to go to the courthouse and report for booking “or you will go to jail,” she said. “And I thought my smile’s gone. What’s going on here?”
When Bowers got home, she researched Tennessee littering laws, which revealed the officer must have made a mistake.
“It’s [TCA] 39-13-503, a minor class C,” said Bowers. “You send in $50 to the county clerk and go on with your life. He wrote me up for a 504, which is criminal misdemeanor littering.”
Tennessee Code Annotated 39-13-504 defines criminal littering as an amount more than five pounds in weight or 7.5 Cubic feet in volume.
Bowers got a lawyer who agreed that it was obviously the wrong charge and he would clear it all up.
When the two showed up for booking, that didn’t happen.
“You take your mug shot then go out to the courthouse,” said Bowers. “Meanwhile, I’m literally around people that have really committed crimes, assault, drunk driving, marijuana and I threw a cigarette butt out the window.”
Once in court, the judge wouldn’t budge. Bowers accepted four hours of community service and the charge for criminal littering would stand.
“You go through your life trying to be a good person, always, and this happens,” said Bowers. “You’re getting arrested. It’s crazy.”
Channel 4 asked Metro Police about Brewer’s case.
“It is the officer’s discretion to issued that citation. It is then up to the court to determine whether the citation should be amended,” police said in a written statement. “If there was an error on the part of the officer, he’ll be made aware.”
Bower will return to court on Nov. 23 where she will attempt to have her record expunged.
http://www.wsmv.com/story/30050364/woman-threatened-with-jail-time-for-tossing-butt-from-window
Littering in Tennessee is no laughing matter and has serious legal consequences, but should you go to court for tossing something as small as a cigarette butt out the window?
One Antioch woman missed three days of work and spent hundreds of dollars on legal help trying to keep herself out of jail because she said the officer wrote down the wrong code violation.
Heidi Bowers, 33, was running an errand for work on Aug. 24. She drove her husband’s car that day, which doesn’t have an ashtray.
She was driving down Murfreesboro Road when she tossed out her cigarette butt.
In a panic moment, my cigarette was running down, and I’m like, ‘There’s no ashtray in this car. What am I doing?’” said Bowers. “I ended up tossing it out the window. I absolutely admit I was wrong. Lo and behold the lights started spinning behind me.”
The wife and mother said she hadn’t been pulled over in years, so she thought what happened next might be new procedure.
“He asked me to step out of the car, which at that point was very weird,” explained Bowers. “He asked me to put my fingerprint on this little scanner he had. Then he asked me to back up and take my picture.
“The whole time I was thinking ‘this is new,’ but I haven’t been pulled over in a while, I’ll go with it.
“Then he said ‘Today you’ve been arrested for littering. Criminal littering.’”
The officer told her to go to the courthouse and report for booking “or you will go to jail,” she said. “And I thought my smile’s gone. What’s going on here?”
When Bowers got home, she researched Tennessee littering laws, which revealed the officer must have made a mistake.
“It’s [TCA] 39-13-503, a minor class C,” said Bowers. “You send in $50 to the county clerk and go on with your life. He wrote me up for a 504, which is criminal misdemeanor littering.”
Tennessee Code Annotated 39-13-504 defines criminal littering as an amount more than five pounds in weight or 7.5 Cubic feet in volume.
Bowers got a lawyer who agreed that it was obviously the wrong charge and he would clear it all up.
When the two showed up for booking, that didn’t happen.
“You take your mug shot then go out to the courthouse,” said Bowers. “Meanwhile, I’m literally around people that have really committed crimes, assault, drunk driving, marijuana and I threw a cigarette butt out the window.”
Once in court, the judge wouldn’t budge. Bowers accepted four hours of community service and the charge for criminal littering would stand.
“You go through your life trying to be a good person, always, and this happens,” said Bowers. “You’re getting arrested. It’s crazy.”
Channel 4 asked Metro Police about Brewer’s case.
“It is the officer’s discretion to issued that citation. It is then up to the court to determine whether the citation should be amended,” police said in a written statement. “If there was an error on the part of the officer, he’ll be made aware.”
Bower will return to court on Nov. 23 where she will attempt to have her record expunged.
http://www.wsmv.com/story/30050364/woman-threatened-with-jail-time-for-tossing-butt-from-window
...a friend thought he had thrown the ciggy butt out the window, but it had bounced back to the back seat...and after a few minutes, smoke was coming up...the backseat was on fire. Burned a big hole in the seat cover and floor board....
