I received a Collection Notice from Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP stating that I had an outstanding ticket in Cameron County, Texas, which is 8 hours from my home.
I called Cameron County JP #5 to inquire and was told that I would have to appear. I told them I was concerned about identity theft and requested a copy of the ticket to verify the signature. I only received a partial ticket, no signature. The ticket had my TDL info and indicated that the ticket was for speeding in a red 2010 Nissan Frontier PU on Tuesday, 7/24/13 at 11:29 pm. I don't own a PU.
I contacted DPS concerned about identity theft. They checked all the databases and verified that nothing had been reported to Austin. The ticket had not been reported, there was no warrant for my arrest, my license was not suspended and was eligible for renewal. They found this quite odd and sent it to Austin to be analyzed.
When I asked why I was just now hearing about a ticket, DPS said that the burden is on law enforcement to verify that the person they are charging with an offense is in fact the person they have information on. However as time goes on and Officers move, the burden shifts to the victim to prove that they are innocent of the charges.
I will update this post when I hear back from DPS.
Linebarger Goggan Communications
Alexandria,#2UPDATE Employee
Thu, June 18, 2015
Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP is a law firm whose practice is dedicated to helping governments recover their delinquent accounts receivable. If you believe you have received a written notice or phone call from our law frim in error please contact us at [email protected] and we will be happy to investigate this matter. Thank you, in advance.