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Was told I have a warrant, not sure what to do....

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kellyda48

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

Thanks in advance for any help you can give. I live in Metro-Detroit and was pulled over yesterday for a very routine traffic stop (was going 8 over in a 45). The officer let me off without a ticket, however had a concerned look on his face when he came back to give me my ID. He told me I have a warrant in Oakland County for $5000 and that he technically should pick me up but he was going to let me go.

Before I could gather myself to ask him more questions about what he's talking about specifically, he had already left unfortunately. I was in complete shock at the time, especially considering I have never been arrested for anything in my life. My only encounters with the police have ever been routine traffic stops from time to time over the years (I think I've gotten 3 tickets in the last 20 years I do believe). After the officer left, I contacted my son and we discussed what the officer could possibly be talking about at length and begun investigating immediately what to do. Below are some notes on what we've done to try and figure out what's going on:

1. I first called the police non-emergency line of the City of pulled over in the for the traffic stop and explained the situation to them, giving them the officer who pulled me over's name. They said I should contact my local police department (city I live in) and ask them and/or the local courthouse and County Sheriff's office.

2. I went to the local courthouse and asked them if there was a warrant on file and they said there was nothing in their system. At this point, I was very confused and told them my situation and asked them for advice on what to do. They asked me to think about any other times I'd been to a court ever and then contact those courts to see if the warrant is related to interactions with them.

3. I have a daughter that is recovering from a Heroin addiction who I've helped bond out of jail on two occasions with another local district court so I went there and asked if they had anything on record; they had no record of my name on file.

4. I then thought perhaps this has to do with the friend of the court, so I contacted them and they said there is no outstanding warrants for me associated with their office.

5. At this point, I was pretty lost and frustrated after spending 4-5 hours trekking across town so I went home and started searching on the computer. I found the local criminal background search engines for the state and checked those as well as trying a paysite (arrestwarrentfinder.com). I had nothing come up in either search. I also did extensive (multiple hours) of google searching to see if any of the district courts or county offices including the sheriff maintained their warrant records online; this was not the case other than some "most wanted" lists that I obviously wasn't on (I checked thinking maybe it's a case of mistaken identity?). t this point, I found these forums and started reading the posts to see if there was anyone else experiencing the same thing and if they had any insight into what to do. My theory about mistaken identity was enhanced substantially considering all the crazy problems people have had with being arrested because they have similar names to other people on this website. At this point, I was getting pretty scared that perhaps this could be a case of mistaken identity.

6. At this point, I contacted someone I know who works in with the local Sheriff's Office and asked them if they had any advice. They did some checking for me and were unable to find anything (they are not an officer though so maybe they're searching the same records as me?). Their advice was to call my local police department and ask them (as someone else said earlier; just working my way through all the possibilities!).

7. At this point, I called my local police department non-emergency line and told them my situation. They said I would need to come down there with my ID in person for more information. I was very alarmed by this statement obviously and asked if someone else could get any information they have to which they said no. Scary sounding stuff.

Sorry about the long story, just want to give you the full details so you can understand what i've already tried and how I got to this point. At this point, I'm extremely scared to go down there with my ID in hand for fear that this is some kind of mistaken identity case, but just like other people on this site, I could get picked up and locked up for weeks before things actually getting fully figured out.

I guess after that long winded story, my main question is how you think I should move forward? I was looking up whether a lawyer could go there on my behalf to get this information, however wasn't able to find anything definitive. Is that something that is possible if I team up with one; could they find out what's going on for me? Are there any other ways to find out this information? For some reason, my Son keeps bringing up the Freedom of Information Act; is that something that can be applied here and maybe he can get the information? I was under the impression that act is for federal information only however.

Any advice at all on how to move forward would be extremely helpful. I'm extremely hesitant to go up there ID in hand after the very cryptic way the officer said things at the local police department. To be honest this whole situation is stressing me out an extreme amount, hence why i'm up at 4am when I have to work at 8am. I greatly appreciate any and all help, hope you have a good night/morning,
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
If you are hesitant to go in person to the local PD, then you may wish to hire a criminal defense attorney to do so for you.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
I don't know why you are attempting to contact the officer who let you go. He's got nothing to do with your problem. Similarly no jurisdiction other than the one that issued the warrant had any way of doing anything with you other than arresting you and holding you for the issuing jurisdiction.

Did you call Oakland County to see if you actually do have a warrant there?
 

kellyda48

Junior Member
Thanks Zigner and Flyingron for the recommendations.

Right now, the idea of being arrested and held at all is terrifying. I want to avoid that scenario at all costs consider I didn't commit any crime. I've never been arrested for anything in my entire life. Just a few traffic violations.

As I mentioned earlier in my initial post, I contacted Oakland County who were not able to give me any information. They referred me to contact my local police station; that's why I wound up calling them and being told cryptically to come down there with my ID for any information on warrants.

Thanks Zigner for the recommendation of contacting a defense attorney to have them check into this. I'm seriously considering this option. This whole thing is extremely stressful considering I haven't done anything wrong and reading these other posts of mistaken identity is making me even more scared. My son and I were talking about it today and he reminded me of when he got his wages garnished at work because someone with the same name and similar birthdate from Ohio skipped out on child support; it took 6 months to clear it up and my son had to drive to Columbus twice. Not to mention, it took a year to get the money back that was taken from him. Just don't want something similar but with a criminal undertone. I did find someone on a public records pull (through the Michigan state police website) with the same first and last name and middle initial as me. The birth date is the same month and year but 9 days off; she is wanted in Macomb County for larceny. This doesn't add though because the police officer that pulled me over said I had a warrant in Oakland County for $5000.

Thanks for any advice anyone can provide. If anyone knows of a good attorney (i'm checking the local bar association now) I would take recommendations as well. Thanks everyone,
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
As I mentioned earlier in my initial post, I contacted Oakland County who were not able to give me any information. They referred me to contact my local police station; that's why I wound up calling them and being told cryptically to come down there with my ID for any information on warrants.
Your post said nothing of the sort. You said you contact the CITY you were stopped in. We can only go on what you say.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Your post said nothing of the sort. You said you contact the CITY you were stopped in. We can only go on what you say.
Yep, here it is:

7. At this point, I called my local police department non-emergency line and told them my situation. They said I would need to come down there with my ID in person for more information. I was very alarmed by this statement obviously and asked if someone else could get any information they have to which they said no. Scary sounding stuff.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
Yep, here it is:
Nope. That doesn't say it either. That's where he went AFTER he was told to contact his local department. Nothing in his statements say he contacted the jurisdiction where the warrant allegedly originated.

The more he talks, the less i understand what is going on. He needs to contact an attorney.
 

HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
What may have happened is called an association. This basically means that when a name/license check was done on you a warrant hit was displayed for someone whose name/DOB was close to yours in some way. We get these very often. It is then up to the officer to investigate further to determine whether the stopped person is, in fact, who the warrant is for.

The officer may not have been inclined to do so for some reason, or there may have been enough doubt in his mind to cause him not to arrest you. In any event, the only way to know for sure would be for you (or a legal representative) to go down to the local police and have a check done, as the officer did in the field.

You never addressed whether you ever lived or spent time in Oakland County.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
Yep, here it is:
Nope. That doesn't say it either. That's where he went AFTER he was told to contact his local department. Nothing in his statements say he contacted the jurisdiction where the warrant allegedly originated.

The more he talks, the less i understand what is going on. He needs to contact an attorney.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Nope. That doesn't say it either. That's where he went AFTER he was told to contact his local department. Nothing in his statements say he contacted the jurisdiction where the warrant allegedly originated.

The more he talks, the less i understand what is going on. He needs to contact an attorney.
My post was supporting yours - sorry I was unclear. I was pointing out the exact place that the OP had talked about contacting the local PD and not the department where the warrant is supposed to be from.
 

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