I've been crossing the border to the USA from Canada most of my life. I have no criminal record.. (well until now)...

I was heading down to California, to pick up a pup, where I have been each year, twice a year for many years when suddenly I'm stopped by the Border Patrol (US) They haul me in, take my possessions, purse, cell, money, etc. they search me (extensively) throw me in a cell at the border. Tow my car away to ??? and tell me that there is a warrant out for my arrest.

Course I'm thinking, o.k. this is a mistake, has to be. So I ask what is the warrant for??
Well, they don't know, it just shows up on my name that there is a warrant out for my arrest.

So, 7 hours later, still in a cell, scared out of my mind, nobody knows where I am, and I can't phone anyone, I'm not allowed.. I'm considered toooooo dangerous.

I'm escorted to the bathroom in handcuffs..again....I'm sooooo dangerous. And then forgotten and left in the bathroom for 3 hours. Just wonderful!

Finally a State Trooper shows up with this 18 year old warrant. I ask, what the heck is going on this is "nuts"

Well, 18 years ago, when I was married, my husband at that time and I had a bank account in a "and/or" type. He, my ex had written out a cheque, mind you, 18 years previously, for the amount of 256.00 and he had bounced it. Course I didn't know this as I was divorcing him at that time.

But my name was also on the cheque at the top..not the signature, just on the da##ned cheque face. I had no idea he had done this.

Felony C... yep, because of the amount and the length of time the cheque was left unpaid, it turned into a fraud of some sort.

I was taken to jail, where as a Canadian, I did not know that the pink bracelet they gave me meant Felony C charges and wondered why all the other inmates were avoiding me (they had blue one).. they had only been drinking and driving or doing drugs, theft..ya know .. small stuff..but I had my name on a cheque that bounced...I was just too big threat to deal with.

Three days later I had finally figured out how to call a bailbonds person and had to put up $3,000 in bail to get out of jail.

So,now I find my car, it had been towed miles away from the border to another town, course I was nowhere near that town, so I did get a taxi then paid 300.00 to get the car out of impound.

finally, I crossed back over to Canada at another border because of where the car had been towed..different area.

Now, I'm angry as can be, and I call the Proscecuters office and ask when my Court date is scheduled.. Oh, hahaha.. said the Court Clerk, you can't come back into the USA, you are a Felony C. So, now I am charged with something I didn't do, and I can't defend myself ...hmmmmm.

But there is a Court date set for me, but if I try to cross the border I will get arrested again...hmmm, I say once again.

I have friends in the US, (dog people).. and now it hits me, I can't ever go there again to see them, or to a dog show, or to buy a pup from one of them..

And to top it all off, I'm a criminal in the USA.

So, I decided if that's the way it was going to be, either the Prosecuter finds a way to get me across the border to my courst case, or I was going to the border and get myself arrested again, so I could get into court at some point.

Turns out that to get me back across the border they have to write to the "Head of State" ..o.k., I'm toast..

What I realized at this point, was that I was charged with something, ....not convicted.. charged, and the right to defend myself had been totally taken away AND when I didn't show up for that court date, I would be in more trouble for a FTA which is a Failure to Appear.
Which would force me into another crime..so I fought it on that basis.

End result, through a series of faxes and emails and phone calls, the Prosecuter and his amazing secretary managed to find a way to have the charges dropped and the case dismissed. (Bless them both for all their hard work)

But to this day.... I still have to show the paperwork sent to me by the Prosecutor showing that I was not convicted. The paperwork shows that I have no previous criminal record anywhere in the world and that I didn't write out the cheque.

I have a terrible time at the airport, a worse time by car, I have to go through security each aand every time I cross I get searched and explain the story over and over again because when they punch my name into a computer I show up as being arrested and booked for a Felony C.

The morale of all this is that I sure hope Canada doesn't get like that, and I sympathize with all of you on this new privacy issue that your President wants implimented..

I do believe you have reasons to worry. The most innocent of us can be persecuted in error.

Thanks for reading this lengthy story. (spell check is missing/pardon errors)

Josephine, I didn't see this til just now. WOW, what a story. I am curious if it has been resolved by now since it was months ago, if you see this please give an update.

Good heavens. What a mess!

Glad you got it all worked out!

quote:

Originally posted by Ratlady:
Good heavens. What a mess!

Glad you got it all worked out!

Thnks RL..and Sheltie..

After two years, I finally have"NO" record of this showing on my name in the computers .. Had it not been for such "great" people in the USA in the Courts helping me with this, I would never have been able to cross the border again..

I now have a dog that is showable and can cross into the USA without a "strip search" LOL..actually, I'm not kidding and it's an awful thing to go through.. YUK

You are still coming here in Oct. right?

Wouldn't miss it for anything, can't wait!! I have one show here in Canada to go to in Oct, but the dates are different, maybe I can pick up a few points CKC...that would be nice!

quote:

Originally posted by VonLahrheimGSP's:
You are still coming here in Oct. right?

Sounds like the Patriot Act. Glad they didn't use Patriot Act 2 .. they would have sent you to Gitmo.
Sorry to hear.

I was given very little information and to date still don't know under what Act I was arrested, but I must agree with you on the Patriot Act. I flew to Washington DC (with my paperwork from the AG's office in hand) about 6 months after that happened to me and they even swabbed my purse....shoes, clothing at airport security, over and above the security clearances I was already going through taking over an hour.

But letting me fly to the Capitol was an indication to me, that even though they still had to check me out, they wouldn't have let me go there had my paperwork not "panned out"..

I think I've been put through so many high ranking security clearances now, that I'm probably more "checked out" than most. Which is good in it's own way as all bases are covered. And, hey I didn't get put on the no-fly list!! Yeah...

Very scary, but it's o.k. now, I can actually book flights online again and my security clearance is like everyone else's ..Whew!! Gitmo, no thanks..LOLOL sorta!

quote:

Originally posted by Radical:
Sounds like the Patriot Act. Glad they didn't use Patriot Act 2 .. they would have sent you to Gitmo.
Sorry to hear.