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Woman Jailed 53 Days in Name Mixup

Her crime: Having the same first name as someone else

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 20, 2011 6:06 PM CDT

(Newser) – That Fargo line of "I'm not sure that I agree with you 100% on your police work there, Lou" applies here in a big way: When Teresa Culpepper called to report a missing truck, officers arrived at her house and promptly arrested her on charges of aggravated assault, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The problem is they confused her with someone else named Teresa—not even another Teresa Culpepper, just another Teresa—and she wound up spending 53 days in jail.

“Her birth date didn't match. Her address didn't match. Her description didn't match. Other than the name Teresa, nothing matched,” says her attorney. She got out when a public defender had the assault victim come to court and say Culpepper was not the accused attacker. Culpepper's attorney promises a lawsuit unless the city offers a settlement.

File photo of a jail cell.
File photo of a jail cell.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 13 comments
FegelahBoychic2
Oct 21, 2011 1:48 AM CDT
She should at least be required to reimburse the city for free food. Sounds like she pulled a fast one on those stupid pigs. LOL
Cupidity
Oct 20, 2011 9:52 PM CDT
This happens pretty frequently, I work in a federal court and we have 3 or 4 of these a month in the form of 1983 actions, which probably means that it happens with much greater frequency. Usually the innocent person is only locked up for a day or two, but it is still ridiculous 
cornelison
Oct 20, 2011 9:25 PM CDT
Why couldn't something like this happen to someone like Glenn Beck?
 

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