Teen jailed over paid traffic ticket
By MARCUS K. GARNER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/01/07
He was basking in the afterglow of a "trip of a lifetime" when he returned to Atlanta Monday.
Seventeen-year-old Stephen Kelsey, a rising senior at Woodward Academy, had just spent two weeks playing soccer in Madrid and London. He was exhausted. He was exhilarated.
What he didn't realize was that he was a wanted man.
Kelsey, a standout soccer player and solid student, had never been in trouble with the law. But U.S. Customs officials, checking his passport upon his arrival at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, found an outstanding arrest warrant.
They turned Stephen over to Atlanta police, who ferried him to the Fulton County Jail.
Kelsey was wanted for failing to appear in court on a traffic ticket — rolling through a stop sign.
One missing detail: The $175 fine had been paid.
"Somebody made a mistake," Kelsey said, "and here I am having to be handcuffed in front of my coaches, my mom, my brother and my teammates."
Marlene Kelsey, who was at the airport to pick up her son, frantically began working for his release.
She got proof that the initial court date had been rescheduled and the ticket paid, and went to the Fulton County Jail, then to Sandy Springs.
"The arresting [Atlanta] officer was adamant that I call Sandy Springs," Marlene Kelsey said. "I went to the precinct, and nobody was there. When I called the 'after hours' number, the phone rang, then cut off."
Sandy Springs Lt. Steve Rose said the department didn't have enough staff to man the desk, and admits that the department was at fault.
"That warrant never should have been in the computer," Rose said. "We should have done something and we didn't."
Rose said his department contacted Fulton County just before Stephen was booked in around 8 p.m., via a Georgia Crime Information Center teletype, to inform the jail that the youth should be released.
At 10:44 p.m., Sandy Springs police received a message from the jail saying he was ready to be picked up. Sandy Springs sent another message to the Fulton Jail at 10:47 p.m.
Meanwhile, Stephen Kelsey struggled to adjust to his new surroundings, sharing a cell with 30 men. He said he was uneasy about sharing close quarters with inmates who appeared to be drug users.
"Most of the guys were cracked out," Stephen said. "I sat next to a guy who talked for 45 minutes to an imaginary friend."
Stephen, resting fitfully on the floor, would occasionally nod off for a few minutes before waking again.
Eventually, Fulton County received word that Stephen Kelsey was not wanted by Sandy Springs. After eight hours in jail, around 4 a.m. Tuesday, he was free to go home.
"For something so minor, who would have believed all this?" Marlene Kelsey said.
www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/northfulton/stories/2007/08/01/jailerror_0802_we... I'll bet the lawyers are lining up at his door after that story. Wow.