Tika Sumpter, star of "The Haves and the Have Nots" is in the news. It is not because of the great job she is doing on Tyler Perry's popular nighttime series. It is not because she is pregnant by one of her co-stars. The actress is in the news for lashing out at authorities on Tweeter for arresting her mother last Monday because of an overdue library book.
Late fee at library
Sumpter says her mother owed a $10 late fee at her local library in North Carolina. You can tell by the long tweet she posted advising others to make sure they return library books to avoid being put in jail.
Sumpter's mother, Janice Acquista, was arrested in Johnston County, North Carolina.
People who do not return library books on time at the Public Library of Johnston County & Smithfield will have to pay a fine of $0.25 per day. A fine for audio books, movies and CDs is $0.50 every 24 hours. The library website mentions nothing about an arrest. Sumpter thinks it is ridiculous that a warrant was put out for her mother's arrest. The 36-year-old actress says her mother was treated like a criminal. She accuses the library of participating in a legal scam because a fine for an overdue book should never result in an arrest.
The irony in the arrest of Acquista is that she is a retired corrections officer.
She had no rap sheet until now. To make matters even worse, the library book was returned years ago. It was an oversight of the library not to put it back into circulation, according to Sumpter.
Library's explanation
The Johnston County Sheriff's Office said the warrant for Acquista's arrest was not for failure to pay for the overdue book.
Instead, she was arrested for a bounced check she wrote a check, and she never made good on the payment. After Acquista received the arrest warrant, she paid the $500 bond and didn't have to stay in jail very long.
North Carolina isn't the only state where people have been jailed for overdue library book. Library card holders in Texas, Wisconsin and Michigan have faced jail time for not returning library books when they were due. In fact, last spring a person was issued a warrant for not returning a copy of a Dr. Seuss book to their local library in Michigan.
