A local Techmseh, Michigan, couple Cathy and Melvin Duren, are on $100 bond each after being charged with misdemeanor larceny for “failure to return rental property.” Their crime? They returned two library books late and tried to pay the $55 of overdue fines.
Lenawee County Court Prosecutor Detective Robert Kellogg from the newly created Economic Crimes Unit, served both with warrants and arraigned them in their home, according to ABC News.
Bond Costs More Than Fees Owed
The Durens made a down payment to the Techmseh Public Library, and attempted to pay the remaining $55 in February, but Detective Kellogg refused payment and instead issued warrants for the couple’s arrest, requiring bond that is twice as much as the fees owed the library.
If convicted, they face 93 days in jail and a hefty fine for each late book.
Gone But Not Forgotten
The Durens’ teenage son checked out a Dr. Seuss book in the summer of 2014, and lost it. The library emailed him instead of his parents, even though he used his mom’s library card, and he never mentioned the lost book or emails to either of them.
It wasn’t until May of 2015 that Cathy says the library notified her of the lost book. The library sent an October 2015 letter notifying the Durens that fees were due for an overdue book, but it never mentioned the book hadn’t been returned. That letduenster also said the library would report the unpaid late charges to the credit reporting agencies.
It was May of 2015 when the library finally notified the Durens of the missing book, and that they’d need to replace it. Cathy put a $10 down payment on the replacement, and checked out another book, but that was returned eight months later when she found while moving in January of 2016.
A Good Faith Effort Wasted
Shortly after returning the second book, Detective Kellogg notified the Durens that the ECU would charge them with “failure to return rental property,” in spite of returning the one book and partially paying for the other.
Cathy said the couple had every intention of paying, but it would have to wait until February because their $500 medications had to come first. Both are disabled and live on a fixed income, and when the Durens showed up as promised Detective Kellogg refused their payment because they couldn’t afford the $105 “diversion fee” for each book.
“[Cathy Duren] she tried to pay the late and replacement fees, which totaled $55, directly to the library. The library had to contact Kellogg to see if this was possible, and Kellogg told the library not to accept her money, according to Duren. She then tried to send a money order through certified mail and she said Kellogg called them leaving ‘threatening’ messages on their phone that they ‘circumvented the law.'”
Detective Kellogg justified couple’s arrest warrants as “protecting taxpayer money,” according to Lenconnect. If he really wanted to do that, he would have done something other than waste the courts time and resources, like make payment arrangements. Instead, he harassed and threatened them when they tried to resolve the issue with the library directly.
Here’s The True Crime
The ECU prosecutes bad checks, and other cases in which those charged “intend” to steal – real criminals, and the diversion fees pay the unit’s operation costs. They get tacked on to each case processed by the unit. The true crime here is that, according to Detective Kellogg, the ECU has recovered only just over $4,000 since beginning its operations.
Referring this case to a criminal unit was egregious overreach and a tragic waste of time and money.
How does recovering $4,000 justify paying one detective’s salary, let alone paying for an entire unit? Tacking on twice the diversion fees still wouldn’t cover those costs. If Detective Kellogg really wanted to “protect taxpayer money,” he’d prosecute real criminals instead of attacking low-income disabled couples like the Durens, making them pay bond fees they can’t afford.
Watch the Durens’ reaction over arrest, bond:
Featured Image: Screenshots From ABC News Video Via YouTube.com
