"I really don't think that going to jail over those two books is OK, and I definitely didn't want to steal their property," Sanders-Jones said. Photo / 10 News
"I really don't think that going to jail over those two books is OK, and I definitely didn't want to steal their property," Sanders-Jones said. Photo / 10 News
Most of us have had a library fine for overdue books.
But one woman is stunned after discovering there is a warrant out for her arrest after she failed to return two library books.
US woman Melinda Sanders-Jones says she could now lose her job over the incident, which dates back to 2017.
Sanders-Jones says she didn't even remember taking out the books, Where the Sidewalk Ends and Night, for her children in 2017, but now she's been dragged in front of a judge and fingerprinted.
The Charlotte mother-of-five discovered the late fee when she went to the library to use the printer, but was told she couldn't use it until she returned the two books.
She called her fiance to check her son's bookshelf for the books, and sure enough they were there.
She returned them to the library and assumed she'd receive a late fee for the books.
But a week later when she discovered she had a warrant out for her arrest when her boss ran a background check on Sanders-Jones that she needed for a promotion.
"My boss called me on Tuesday to inform me that I had warrant and I had to pull over because I started laughing and he was like 'no, I'm serious.' And I was like, no, there's no way," Sanders-Jones said.
"I really don't think that going to jail over those two books is okay, and I definitely didn't want to steal their property.
"I assumed that they had sent it to collections and that I would see it on the report or something like that. I had no idea that criminal charges would be pressed."
Sanders-Jones bookshelf where she found the books before she returned them. Photo / WILX
The library explained late notices are sent out every few weeks, but Sanders-Jones never received the letters as she was often on the move while trying to get out of an abusive relationship.
"Any mail that was there, I didn't get," she said. "Soon I ended in the Siren Shelter that's here in Charlotte that helps with domestic violence victims and your address is confidential. I had to change my phone number...I had to change my entire life."
Now she's set for another court appearance, and cannot work for her current employer until the case is resolved.
She faces a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail and a $500 fine.
"It's just ridiculous," she said. "Like, there is no reason that this needs to be happening. Like I said, they would have had a better chance of getting their money if they would have sent it to collections...because I would have known."
