OKLAHOMA CITY – Scott Hines is always in someone’s corner but it’s rare for that person in need to be a member of the News Channel 4 family.
But that’s exactly what happened.
Morning anchor, Ali Meyer, managed to get into a wee bit of trouble with the law.
She thought she’d taken care of the matter but then came a bombshell she never saw coming.
We immediately knew this was a job for Scott Hines and our In Your Corner team.
“I’m a law-abiding citizen, Scott,” she said. “There are not warrants out for my arrest.”
Our team is used to chasing down our fair share of crooks but this was a first.
Ali said, “I get this in the mail, a warrant for my arrest.”
Turns out, since 2006, there’s been a bench warrant out for Ali’s arrest for an unpaid speeding ticket that’s more than 12 years old.
“It was 2000, 2001,” Ali said. “I was speeding. I got the ticket. I paid the ticket.”
Or so she thought.
We knew we had to clear Ali’s good name.
We asked Oklahoma County Court Clerk, Tim Rhodes, to look into the matter.
“She did what she was supposed to do,” he said. “She sent in a check for $74.”
The In Your Corner team has learned Ali, through no fault of her own, wrote her check for the wrong amount, a measly $19 short of what she actually owed the state.
Rhodes said it’s likely the Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper who caught Ali speeding goofed when he wrote the incorrect fine on her citation.
Shortly after Ali was cited, the state’s speeding fines shot up, again, a $19 increase.
Ali said, “$19, it’s enough to get you arrested!”
“So you have Highway Patrol troopers out there for most of the decade of the ’90s writing tickets for one to 10 over and probably and automatically writing in $74,” Rhodes said.
OHP declined our request for an on-camera interview but a spokesperson said their outdated system of writing the fine on a citation has caused problems in the past.
However, today the way troopers issue tickets is computer generated, so it appears the problem has been solved.
Rhodes said Ali’s hang-up was unique.
He said, “I’m sure she wasn’t trying to hide from us because she’s right there at Channel 4.”
Oklahoma County only found her after it outsourced her collections case to a third-party.
Her ticket, along with hundreds of others, was sent to a collections agency out of San Antonio.
Ali is able to escape the pokey, this time.
“I might look good in an orange jumpsuit actually,” she said. “Orange kind of is my color but let’s not test it.”
Ali’s in the clear but other drivers could still run into a similar road block at some point.
Do yourself a favor and stay ahead of the game.
- Google your name.
- Check state and city court records.
- Pull your credit report.
- OSBI will even do a quick background check.
