Call Kurtis: $1200 Bill Sent After County Loses Viewer's Fix-It Ticket

A Calaveras County mom was ordered to pay $1,200 after a simple traffic stop turned into a paperwork nightmare.

Last May, Marsha Russell was picking up food for her family, when she was pulled over by a deputy down the street from her home. She was cited for expired registration tags and given a fix-it ticket. The deputy told her she had 30 days to correct the problem, and to expect a courtesy notice in the mail.

"I didn't think there would be no problems," said Russell. "Honestly, because fix-it ticket? It's no big deal. But apparently it is a big deal."

Almost a month later, Marsha realized she never received a courtesy notice, so she took matters into her own hands.

She went to the DMV to get her new registration, then paid the CHP a visit where an officer signed off her ticket, saying she had fixed the problem. Finally, Marsha drove to the courthouse to pay her fine, but that's where she ran into a problem: they wouldn't take her money.

"They didn't have it in their computer," said Russell. "I'm like 'Well, can I just pay for it anyway? Oh, no, cause I don't have anything to put it towards'."

Marsha checked with the sheriff's department, which issued the ticket. They couldn't find any record of it either.

"I didn't hear anything for seven months, and then I get a collections notice for $1,200," said Russell.

The county claimed Marsha was late paying the same ticket that nobody could find months earlier. "I felt like I couldn't win. I mean, it wasn't fair, it wasn't justice. Because I was here, I tried to take care of it," said Russell.

A judge knocked the fine down to $700, but it wasn't enough for Marsha. "That goes against my credit and everything, and that's not good."

CBS13 contacted the Calaveras County courts. A supervisor researched Marsha's ticket and discovered somehow it had gotten lost for three months. When it was found in August, the courts sent Marsha a note giving her 30 days to pay, but she had moved, and the notice came back "undeliverable".

After we got involved, the courts say they've knocked Marsha's fine back down to its original amount and given her another month to pay.

"I'm happy, really happy," said Russell. "There is justice. Not at the courthouse, but you guys."