A six-year-old crime finally caught up to Doug Maupin, but he doesn't think the penalty fits the crime.
The Collin County man was pulled over in Parker back in February for speeding and arrested on an outstanding warrant -- for skipping jury duty in 2003.
Maupin admits he has a heavy foot, saying he has received several speeding tickets in North Texas. So when the officer told him he had a warrant for his arrest, he figured it was for the tickets.
"I thought maybe a week or two in jail, and then that would be that, and I could move on with my life," Maupin said.
He was wrong. Maupin spent 83 days in the Collin County jail.
He said the jury summons was sent to his parents' house. But he had moved out and didn't forward his mail, so he didn't receive the notice or know it was delivered.
Maupin pleaded guilty to skipping to the summons charge and then waited for his day in court.
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And waited. And waited.
"After about a month, I started to wonder a little bit, and I thought, 'Well, maybe they're trying to make an example out of me,'" Maupin said.
He even wrote the Collin County courts to get an attorney and to request a court date, but his questions were never answered.
"I don't understand how you can totally lose someone, especially that's been in there nearly three months," he said.
The Collin County Sheriff's Office said it was just doing its job when it came to Maupin's case.
"We did hold him until he was released," Lt. John Norton said. "He did not post bond, obviously, on the charge, but we did contact and notify the court that he was in custody and he was requesting an attorney."
He didn't receive his day in court until he wrote to Dallas Morning News for help. A judge let him out without bond, if Maupin agreed to show up to a hearing on May 28 to answer for the allegation of skipping jury duty.
His speeding tickets were erased in lieu of his time served.
After being lost in the system, Maupin said he has lost some faith in the justice system. But what seems to hurt him more is what he lost while he was locked up -- his rental house, all of his belongings, and most importantly, his pet pug, Daisy.
"Daisy, she's my little girl," he said. "She's that important to me. I can't replace her. I can replace everything else. It's not going to be easy, but I can't replace her."
He said the dog somehow ran away from a friend's back yard.
