Posted on 06/18/2004 7:13:17 PM PDT by knak
Woman Taken From Cruise in Shackles, Accused of Welching on Year-Old Marshmallow Bust Fine
The Associated Press
MIAMI June 18, 2004 — A teacher's aide who forgot to put away her marshmallows and hot chocolate at Yellowstone National Park last year was taken from her cruise ship cabin in handcuffs and hauled before a judge Friday, accused of failing to pay the year-old fine.
Hope Clarke, 32, crying and in leg shackles, told the judge she was rousted at 6:30 a.m. by federal agents after the ship returned to Miami from Mexico. She insisted that she had been required to pay the $50 fine before she could leave Yellowstone, which has strict rules about food storage to prevent wildlife from eating human food.
Customs agents meet all cruise ships arriving from foreign ports and run random checks of passenger lists, and a warrant claiming Clarke had not paid the fine was found in the federal law enforcement database.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Outerbridge conceded there were some "discrepancies," but suggested to the judge that Clarke appear in court again to clear up the warrant.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John O'Sullivan, who had a copy of a citation indicating the fine had been paid, apologized to Clarke, who spent nearly nine hours in detention, and demanded that the U.S. attorney's office determine what went wrong.
Zach Mann, spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, called the arrest "an unfortunate set of circumstances." He added, "We were acting on what we believed was accurate information."
Glad to know the system now works and are catching the real criminals.
Oh for crying out loud!
Well I'm glad she's off the streets!
Good grief ...
Meanwhile 6 million illegal aliens roam the streets of America.
that's exactly what I was thinking
Had she taken the time to do some pectoral firming exercises, she wouldn't have been embarrassed...
Of course, I had to click on this to find out what a "marshmallow bust" was.
I've never been haunted by a bust made of marshmellows.
LOL.
Well it's friday night and there's a first time for everything... explore alternative lifestyles.
Well at least she will have one hell of a cruise story to tell her friends.
She woulda been a walkin perp if not for homeland security...... Glad that female menace is off the streets!
Hmmmmm......
Double that number and add a million or two.
"Had she taken the time to do some pectoral firming exercises, she wouldn't have been embarrassed..."
She may not have been, but I am. (Blush)
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