A Truck and an Arrest Warrant

We are now the proud owners of a truck. We've been talking about buying one for a few months, and decided on our day off-July 3rd-to seriously look for one. Josh knew what he was looking for, so we drove up and down State Street looking at several dealerships. As soon as we drove this one, we knew it was the one. It's a 2001 GMC Sierra, four-door, short-bed. We've nicknamed it "Big Blue."

The next day we used it to deliver a birthday present to my mom. All of the kids got together and bought her a BBQ grill. It was great to not be dependent on other people to haul things around.

Later that day we took the truck to watch fireworks. We went to Wasatch Blvd and about 4500 South and parked by a small grassy area. Then we put our camping chairs in the bed and watched the sun set over the valley while enjoying dinner. Soon afterwards several fireworks shows began. We were able to see most of the valley from our vantage point and it was beautiful! It was the best fireworks show I've ever seen!

 

Yesterday we took the truck out for it's first real test. We drove to the top of Butterfield Canyon. We were above and behind the copper mine with the Salt Lake Valley in the distance. It's been several years since I've been up there and it is truly an awe-inspiring sight! We used the four-wheel drive and Big Blue didn't have any problems.


Now for the intriguing part of this blog. Thursday afternoon I got a call from Josh. He said that a certified letter had come for me and asked if he could open it. A few minutes later, he told me it was from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation stating that I could not receive a concealed weapons permit (I had applied for one earlier in the year) because there was an arrest warrant out for me. He said it was in West Valley and had been issued in June of 2008. As soon as I heard this, I totally freaked out and I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating for a few seconds. When I had regained my composure, I called West Valley and found that I had not fully paid a ticket I had received in 2006, so they had issued a warrant and now I would need to pay $258 to post bail. Josh had unknowingly married a criminal!


We raced to the court house as soon as I got off work. Of course Josh drove because as soon as the warrant was issued, my license had been suspended. How great is that?! I've been driving on a suspended license for a year!? I had heard nothing about owing more after I paid this ticket and thought it had been taken care of long before. The clerk we talked to said that we could contest the ticket or just pay it and have the warrant recalled. He also said that a letter had been mailed, but it was returned and they had stopped trying. We had decided to just pay the fine, but Josh asked to see the ticket before we did. When the clerk came out with the copy, he said that we were right and that I had paid the ticket. It had only been written for one violation-when the city thought it was two-and it had been taken care of three years before. The clerk apologized, saying that this type of mistake never happens. He then quickly had the warrant and the suspension revoked. He gave us a copy of these papers and I've been carrying them with me ever since. I want everyone to know that I am a law-abiding citizen!