Mother-Of-Five Fired From Job, Faces Jail Because She Forgot To Return Two Library Books

Nov 11, 2019 by apost team

Melinda Sanders-Jones is a mother of five in Michigan whose life had been going pretty well until recently. She was being considered for a promotion at her job, but this led to a criminal background check. Instead of receiving a promotion, Melinda was shocked when her boss told her that there was a current warrant for her arrest and that she was being suspended from her job.

The reason for the arrest warrant was that there were some library books that had been overdue. Given the nature of this warrant, Melinda initially thought that her boss was joking. She spoke in an interview for CNN that she didn't think facing jail time over two library books was right.

The two books that Melinda had borrowed were "The Sidewalk Ends" and the "Night" trilogy. The library in question was the Charlotte Community Library, and Melinda had checked these items out in 2017.

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She didn't know that the items hadn't been returned until she tried to use a printer at the facility. She was barred from using the equipment until the items were returned. She went home and found the items on a bookshelf and returned them to the library. Melinda didn't pay the fine, and it ended up escalating into an arrest warrant. She didn't find out about the warrant until her boss gave her the news. When her boss informed her of the warrant, she laughed and didn't think it was impossible. But her boss was dead serious and assured her that it was not a joke.

The policy of the library is to send notice to the patron about overdue items via the communication method that the person chooses. The library is supposed to warn the patron by registered mail if the items haven't been returned after three months of being overdue and that they will be reported as stolen property. Melissa said that she didn't receive communications because she had been changing addresses and contact information to avoid an abusive partner. She had also gone to a women's shelter for victims of domestic violence.

Melinda is fighting a legal battle to clear her record with the library and the authorities so that she can return to her job. The maximum sentence for her charge is up to 93 days in prison and a fine of up to $500.

Do you think this type of extreme action would happen at your library for overdue books? Let us know your thoughts, and send this story along to your friends and family.