Man arrested for not returning VHS tape he rented 14 years ago

A North Carolina man, James Meyers Jr., a single dad, says he was arrested for not returning a videotape cassette tape he rented 14 years ago.

Meyers said he was driving his 10-year-old daughter to school at around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday when police pulled him over for a broken brake light.
Meyers gave the police officers his driver’s license and was shocked when they said there was a warrant out for his arrest for not returning a VHS rental, the title of the movie was "Freddy Got Fingered," from 2002, he said.

Meyers told ABC News yesterday:

"They were chitchatting with me and talking about how ridiculous this is, then they arrested me". "Because I had my daughter in the car and we were on the way to school they said that I could take my daughter to school and go to work and then find a babysitter, and then come into the police and turn myself in."

According to a police news statement, the arrest warrant had been issued on Feb. 28, 2002.

So after he dropped his daughter off at school and found a baby sitter to watch her after school, he went to the police station and turned himself in. There he was processed at the Concord Police Department on a charge of "failure to return hired property" before being transferred to Cabarrus County Jail, where he was released on a written promise.

Meyers, who is a drum and bass musician, said he had never been arrested before said:

"They took my belt, I was trying to hold my pants up while trying to sign papers,” he said. “It was very embarrassing." 

"It scared my daughter,” he said. “She thought I was going to jail for a bad brake light."

Meyers rented the VHS from J&J Video in Salisbury, North Carolina, according to police. "The store has been closed for about 10 years now, if I'm not mistaken,” he said.

Meyers said Tom Green, the writer, director and star of "Freddy Got Fingered," reached out to him from his stand-up comedy tour in Australia when he heard the news, he said Green also tweeted about his 2001 action-comedy film: "I just saw this and I am struggling to believe it is real."

He said:

"Tom Green called and started singing to me on the other end of the phone. He said not to worry, and he can help anyway he can, and please keep in contact with him and keep him updated".

"He was so cool, he was a class act. It made me feel a lot better because of all the stress that is going on."

Meyers, who said he has no idea what became of the tape, is scheduled to appear in court next month.