Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithee)
03-24-16, 01:03 PM
#1
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Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithee)
Concord man arrested for not returning VHS rental 14 years later
As if watching that film wasn't punishment enough...
CONCORD, N.C. — A Concord man was arrested for failing to return a 2002 VHS rental movie, “Freddy Got Fingered.”
James Meyers showed Channel 9 the arrest warrant Wednesday. It shows Meyers is charged with failure to return rental property, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $200.
The rental store in Kannapolis, J&J’s Video, has since closed, but Meyers was still given an April 27 court date for failing to return the gross-out comedy about a cartoonist returning home to live with his parents.
Meyers said he was driving his daughter to school on Concord Parkway Tuesday morning when a Concord police officer pulled him over for a tail-light that was out.
Meyers said the officer ran his license and approximately 25 minutes later asked him to step out of the vehicle.
“The officer said, 'I don’t know how to tell you this but there’s a warrant out for your arrest from 2002. Apparently you rented the movie "Freddy Got Fingered" and never returned it.' I thought he was joking,” said Meyers.
Meyers said the officers were very polite and professional. They let him take his daughter to school and go to work as long as he promised to turn himself into the police department later that day.
Meyers said he thought everything would get straightened out at the department. He was surprised when officers arrested him and then took him to the magistrate’s office.
“For the first time I got put in handcuffs,” said Meyers.
Meyers said he vaguely remembers renting the particular movie from the family-owned video store in Kannapolis.
The 2001 movie “Freddy Got Fingered” starred comedian Tom Green.
On Wednesday night, Meyers received a call from Green, the writer-director-star of “Freddy” who reached out after Meyers’ friend shared the story with him on Twitter, according to The New York Daily News.
Green, who is currently on a stand-up comedy tour in Australia, told the Daily News that he is happy to support fans of his film, which was the subject of terrible reviews and currently has an 11 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The 44-year-old comedian told the Daily News that he could put in a good word with the court or even help out financially as long as the outcome doesn’t involve an outrageous sum.
“If it’s 200 bucks of course I’ll pay it for him, just for the principle of the thing,” Green said.
Meyers told Channel 9 he can only hope the charges get dismissed.
He added that he had been pulled over since the warrant was issued in 2002, but had never heard about the lost tape.
“They’re not focusing on the crimes I think they should be focusing on,” said Meyers. “That hour the cops sat out there with me, the hour and a half I was down in the magistrate's office could have been spent somewhere else.”
James Meyers showed Channel 9 the arrest warrant Wednesday. It shows Meyers is charged with failure to return rental property, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $200.
The rental store in Kannapolis, J&J’s Video, has since closed, but Meyers was still given an April 27 court date for failing to return the gross-out comedy about a cartoonist returning home to live with his parents.
Meyers said he was driving his daughter to school on Concord Parkway Tuesday morning when a Concord police officer pulled him over for a tail-light that was out.
Meyers said the officer ran his license and approximately 25 minutes later asked him to step out of the vehicle.
“The officer said, 'I don’t know how to tell you this but there’s a warrant out for your arrest from 2002. Apparently you rented the movie "Freddy Got Fingered" and never returned it.' I thought he was joking,” said Meyers.
Meyers said the officers were very polite and professional. They let him take his daughter to school and go to work as long as he promised to turn himself into the police department later that day.
Meyers said he thought everything would get straightened out at the department. He was surprised when officers arrested him and then took him to the magistrate’s office.
“For the first time I got put in handcuffs,” said Meyers.
Meyers said he vaguely remembers renting the particular movie from the family-owned video store in Kannapolis.
The 2001 movie “Freddy Got Fingered” starred comedian Tom Green.
On Wednesday night, Meyers received a call from Green, the writer-director-star of “Freddy” who reached out after Meyers’ friend shared the story with him on Twitter, according to The New York Daily News.
Green, who is currently on a stand-up comedy tour in Australia, told the Daily News that he is happy to support fans of his film, which was the subject of terrible reviews and currently has an 11 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The 44-year-old comedian told the Daily News that he could put in a good word with the court or even help out financially as long as the outcome doesn’t involve an outrageous sum.
“If it’s 200 bucks of course I’ll pay it for him, just for the principle of the thing,” Green said.
Meyers told Channel 9 he can only hope the charges get dismissed.
He added that he had been pulled over since the warrant was issued in 2002, but had never heard about the lost tape.
“They’re not focusing on the crimes I think they should be focusing on,” said Meyers. “That hour the cops sat out there with me, the hour and a half I was down in the magistrate's office could have been spent somewhere else.”
03-24-16, 01:08 PM
#2
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Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
Bizarre. What grounds are there for a now vanished business to recover any funds?
03-24-16, 01:17 PM
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Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
It probably has nothing to do with the business, and everything to do with the bench warrant never being vacated.
03-24-16, 01:23 PM
#4
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Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
"Freddy Got Fingered" ... Cop should have just shot him on the spot. Good thing it wasn't "Next Friday" or he would have.
On a more serious note, Printerati is correct. Should the state proceed with this travesty, the odds are no one will show up to testify and it will be dismissed. I spent quite a few years in the rental business but had never heard of this tactic. Hell, I couldn't get my company to even let us press charges on actual thieves.
On a more serious note, Printerati is correct. Should the state proceed with this travesty, the odds are no one will show up to testify and it will be dismissed. I spent quite a few years in the rental business but had never heard of this tactic. Hell, I couldn't get my company to even let us press charges on actual thieves.
Last edited by Abob Teff; 03-24-16 at 01:28 PM.
03-24-16, 01:46 PM
#5
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
Crap! I have a library book that I never returned, from about 30 years ago.
Will be looking over my shoulder.
Incidentally, kudos on the thread title. I chuckled at that.
Will be looking over my shoulder.
Incidentally, kudos on the thread title. I chuckled at that.
03-24-16, 02:24 PM
#6
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
It's not that he didn't return it, he probably threw it away. I can honestly say that was one of the worst movies I have ever seen.
Good on Green though for being cool about it and offering to help.
Good on Green though for being cool about it and offering to help.
03-24-16, 02:45 PM
#9
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
Originally Posted by nickdawgy
I can honestly say that was one of the worst movies I have ever seen.
Is it not weird that the officer would know the name of the exact movie?
03-24-16, 03:49 PM
#10
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
I liked Freddy Got Fingered, I never got around to buying it on dvd, still need to track it down. The case will be dropped.
03-24-16, 04:20 PM
#11
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Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
I hope the video store fingered the right guy.
03-24-16, 04:57 PM
#12
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Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
I don't care. I love this movie. It's hilarious. Just the combination of Green's over the top ridiculousness with Rip Torn's straight man gets me. The scene in the restaurant is amazing. It's just a really stupid, ridiculous movie that's too weird for some but I enjoy it anyway.
03-24-16, 07:35 PM
#14
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
Freddy Got Fingered is pure genius. I would go to jail for that movie, for sure.
03-24-16, 08:05 PM
#16
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
Originally Posted by danwiz
What's the statute of limitations on this type of "crime"?
I'm guessing this one will get tossed....ridiculous if you ask me. Its nearly a civil agreement between the renter and the store.
I know jurisdictions that don't even charge gas driveoffs anymore...which is theft.
03-24-16, 08:13 PM
#17
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
So, there's no statute of limitations with respect to warrants out for arrest, particularly for misdemeanors of little import? Scary... And even more so that the cops are wasting their time in going after this guy.
03-24-16, 08:30 PM
#19
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
Originally Posted by SterlingBen
Guilty, by 2002 he should have been doing DVD.
I paid $1100 or so for my top of the line Sony DVD player back in the late 90's.
03-24-16, 09:35 PM
#20
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
Originally Posted by zyzzle
So, there's no statute of limitations with respect to warrants out for arrest, particularly for misdemeanors of little import? Scary... And even more so that the cops are wasting their time in going after this guy.
And there was no "going after this guy"... he got encountered on a traffic stop.
The case will get tossed. At the court I used to work at, I know for a fact that there were many warrants for defunct places (like Home Quarters Warehouse, which has been out of business for decades).
03-24-16, 10:27 PM
#21
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
Maybe that turns on that James guy. Maybe that's how he gets his kicks. Him and his good-time buddies. Well I got a flash for you, joy boy's. Party time is over. Return your library books and movie rentals or else.
03-24-16, 10:37 PM
#22
Suspended
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
School me this, Captain Marvel. Apparently warrants are written in such detail that "Freddy Got Fingered" was included in the APB? The officer doesn't know how to tell him about the APB but he knows the title of the movie. Great work, Detective!!
“The officer said, 'I don’t know how to tell you this but there’s a warrant out for your arrest from 2002. Apparently you rented the movie "Freddy Got Fingered" and never returned it.' I thought he was joking,” said Meyers.
03-25-16, 01:21 AM
#23
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
I'm not even sure what you're asking.
The complaint would specify the exact property taken. The warrant would likely just list the criminal charge only.
The complaint would specify the exact property taken. The warrant would likely just list the criminal charge only.
03-25-16, 03:24 AM
#24
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Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
There was another story like this recently, I forget how that one turned out. Seems weird they'd do anything about this when the store already went under; I heard people were "renting" stuff from Blockbuster the last week they were open and never returning it since they knew nobody would come after them.
This movie actually is partly to blame for starting my DVD collection's growth spurt, as I bought it for about $3 on Black Friday at Wal-Mart- I couldn't believe they were selling it that cheap, so I just had to get it. I'll side with classifying it as a "misunderstood masterpiece", as Tom Green obviously wasn't trying to make anything great which puts it ahead of so many other painfully unfunny comedies out there. I just wish I'd have swiped the 35mm print of it when I had the chance- the movie was very short, barely filling out 4 reels altogether.
This movie actually is partly to blame for starting my DVD collection's growth spurt, as I bought it for about $3 on Black Friday at Wal-Mart- I couldn't believe they were selling it that cheap, so I just had to get it. I'll side with classifying it as a "misunderstood masterpiece", as Tom Green obviously wasn't trying to make anything great which puts it ahead of so many other painfully unfunny comedies out there. I just wish I'd have swiped the 35mm print of it when I had the chance- the movie was very short, barely filling out 4 reels altogether.
03-25-16, 04:48 AM
#25
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Man arrested after 14 years for not returning VHS rental (not FL, not Alan Smithe
Originally Posted by CaptainMarvel
I'm not even sure what you're asking.
The complaint would specify the exact property taken. The warrant would likely just list the criminal charge only.
The complaint would specify the exact property taken. The warrant would likely just list the criminal charge only.
Exactly.
When the officer stopped him...the readout on the squad computer would just say "theft, bail: $xxx.xx
There may have been notes available in the NCIC readout...or the officer had the ability to pull up the warrant on his computer.
Stop blaming this on LE...if a Judge signs a warrant this is out of LE's hands. Its a Judicial order...simple as that.
The stupid part is that it stayed in the system this long. Probably overlooked. Should have been dropped years ago or not even charged.
