A North Carolina man was arrested for not returning a VHS tape of a movie he rented 14 years ago, from a rental store that closed 10 years ago.
On his way while driving his daughter to school, James Meyers was pulled over by an officer for a broken brake light, and the license check brought up the fact that there was a warrant for his arrest for him not returning a 2001 VHS rental of “Freddie Got Fingered,” a misdemeanor in North Carolina.
Meyers had never been arrested before and described the entire process as humiliating.
“They took my belt. I was trying to hold my pants up while trying to sign papers,” he told ABC News. “It was very embarrassing.”
The warrant for his arrest had been written in February of 2002. Meyers was released from jail after he signed a written promise.
On Facebook, Meyers complained about the fact that the state was devoting resources to arresting people like him for trivial mistakes when people, like 6 of his friends, were dying from heroin.
“Good job NC, your incompetent institution never ceases to amaze me,” Meyers wrote. “As soon as I get this crap worked out? It’s time to get the hell out of this state, possibly even the country.”
Meyers made a video describing his ordeal, which quickly spread across the internet, and eventually the star of the movie he had rented, Tom Green, called him up and made a personal apology.
“He was so cool; he was a class act. It made me feel a lot better because of all the stress that is going on,” Meyers said of Green.
Watch Meyers’s full video complaint below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oraOhB_Mig
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