It's almost like a nightmare. You have received a court summons ordering you to appear before a judge on a criminal charge. The name is correct, but it’s not you!
That's the exact scenario a Provo woman is currently dealing with as Megan McGee insists she is the Real McCoy, and not the Megan McGee named in a summons on a shoplifting charge.
Even though the mix-up appears to be a clerical error, McGee and local defense attorneys say there are things to know should the same thing happen to you.
“Well, it’s kind of exciting… until it’s not,” said McGee.
Earlier this month, McGee received a phone call.
“So I got a call from a deputy who said that we have a summons, a court summons for you, and we need your email address, or I need to run it up to you," she said. "I was confused because I was not aware of anything.”
The summons was connected with an arrest by Provo Police in a shoplifting case, where the suspect told officers that her name was Megan McGee. The real Megan knew it wasn’t her, but initially had no idea how to convince the cops and the courts.
“They just kept telling me, ‘Make sure you appear!' In the summons, it says to go get fingerprinted, and I don’t want to get fingerprinted because I don’t want to be in some criminal system,” McGee explained.
Megan knew she needed to do something.
“Number one, don’t ignore it!” said defense attorney Justin Pratt.
Pratt is not involved in McGee's case, but explained that while mistaken identity situations like hers are rare, they can happen, and simply ignoring a summons can only make matters worse.
“So if you don’t show up for court, the court could issue a warrant,” Pratt said.
Pratt advises people to be prepared to prove their identification with information and documentation, including a driver's license and even utility bills.
“They don’t make it so easy to get out of a criminal charge that you can just pick up the phone and call them and say, ‘Hey, this isn’t me!" Pratt explained. "They’re gonna make you prove it’s not you.”
Late Wednesday, FOX 13 News received a statement from Provo Police, which said, “In checking the information provided by Ms. McGee, our department discovered that a clerical error had occurred when staff entered name data into the court filing system.
"Our department has been in contact with the county attorney’s office, and the correct data has been submitted to them. We are awaiting confirmation of that amendment from their office. We understand this must have been distressing for Ms. McGee, and we apologize for this.”
Megan is hoping she doesn’t have to appear in court next week, that the case will be dismissed with prejudice and expunged.
“It’s been a crazy month and I’ve lost a lot of sleep,” she said.
