My 75 year old mom was accused of felony reckless endangerment by a renter 10 or 12 years ago. She was backing her car away from the renter,...

Question

My 75 year old mom was accused of felony reckless endangerment by a renter 10 or 12 years ago. She was backing her car away from the renter, the renter's husband called the police saying that my mom had tried to run over his wife. Police arrived, said my mom was harassing the renters. She wanted the key back from rental house that they had never paid rent on. My mom did not get a ticket. She has never heard a word from anyone about this until now. Police stopped her because her tag sticker was in wrong spot. Checked her info, told her she had an outstanding felony reckless endangerment charge, arrested her, handcuffed her, took her to jail, had her car impounded. My mom was on her way to church. She was able to sign herself out of jail, had to pay $205 to get her car out. She is worried sick. What is the statute of limitation on this is Alabama? Thanks

Answer

For one, you are posting to Georgia lawyers and not Alabama lawyers. Two, that is a question for a good criminal lawyer (in Alabama) to answer tomorrow morning. Are you planning on being her lawyer after you ask on message boards? If so, expect problems. If not, let a lawyer handle it and if she has a good record they can probably take care of it.

Answer

(1) Your mother possibly did not tell you the whole story. If she ignored the court date on a citation or court notice she isn't telling you about, she became a fugitive. Depending on what was done and signed, her flight may have tolled any statute of limitations. Another possibility: the renters swore out a warrant and the police have been unable to serve her until now. But either way, it needs to get addressed now.

(2) You posted a question of Alabama law to the portion of LawGuru that only Georgia lawyers see, so Alabama lawyers will never see it. Few Georgia lawyers are licensed in Alabama or know Alabama law.

(3) Your mother should already have retained an Alabama lawyer. Help her do so Monday morning. Assuming she has a clean record, a lawyer can likely sort this out for her.