13 year old bad debt

i live in new jersey. in 1989 i made a purchase of about 2,000.00 through a rent to buy music shop. i made a couple of payments and then abruptly left the state due to severe illness
in my family. i did not return until mid 1994 and have remained here ever since. just recently i received letters from some sort of collection agency saying i owe 4958.00. i did nothing about it and now i have to go to a court hearing. is there some sort of statute of limitation on debt collection such as this? the item was never recovered by me or the store that sold it to me. will i get arrested if i don't go to the hearing? should i get a public defender? i am currently unemployed due to 9/11 and only get minimal unemployment. i don't want to claim bankruptcy or have my wages garnished. what are my options?

If you fail to go to court, you will definately lose and end up with a default judgement.

The statute of limitations has expired on the debt, so that will be your defense in court. NJ's SOL is 6 years for all debts. When you go to court, tell the judge that your defense to the claim is that the SOL has expired.