A man said that he missed his aunt’s funeral after a mix-up landed him in jail.
A warrant was issued for Matt Saum after Knox County officials thought he failed to show up for court. Saum said that he did appear, but was still arrested on Saturday. Now the county is apologizing for the mishap.
Saum said that he was relieved to receive a voicemail from the Mount Vernon Municipal Court Clerk stating that the warrant was “taken care of” and assuring him that he would get his $200 back on Monday. However, he said that the county could do nothing to replace the time he lost.
“There’s nothing in the world I can do to ever replace going to my aunt’s funeral,” Saum said.
Saum was en route to his aunt’s funeral when he stopped at a Delaware gas station for coffee.
“When I was coming out of the gas station, this village cop kept running around the building,” Saum said.
Ashley police told 10TV that Saum had a warrant out of Knox County for failure to appear in court. Saum said that he has the paperwork to prove his innocence and that his license was suspended after a mix up with back child support.
He appeared in court to sort out the matters and received a court slip to prove he was scheduled to be in court on Wednesday. Saum said that police did not buy his explanation when they arrested him.
“I’m scared to death,” Saum said. “I thought, ‘Man, how can this happen?’”
Saum sat in custody for nearly nine hours, thinking about his aunt’s funeral the entire time.
“They said they couldn't check in the clerk's office because the clerk's office was closed until Monday,” Saum said.
“I apologize for the mix up,” the clerk said in a voicemail. “What happened was you weren't on the schedule and evidently when you showed up that didn't get relayed to us.”
Ashley police defended the action of the officers, stating that they were following procedure.
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