A “failure to appear” can result in sanctions greater than that evoked by the underlying crime

by Briana James , December 28, 2011

On December 21, police were called when 29-year-old Shamar Masters was found sleeping in the Civic Center Parking Garage, blocks away from the Alameda Police Station. Masters was arrested after a warrant check revealed he had two outstanding Failure to Appear (FTA) warrants. Both warrants resulted from failed court appearances related to recent misdemeanor charges.

One of the misdemeanors—a charge of petty theft—arose from events that took place on November 14. Masters allegedly used a CVS grocery cart to haul 20 cases of water off of a pallet jack located outside of CVS pharmacy’s loading area on the 2300 block of Santa Clara Avenue.

Due to the FTAs—which are misdemeanors in and of themselves—Masters could face jail time; an FTA is punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $300, plus court costs.

A “failure to appear” can result in sanctions greater than that evoked by the underlying crime was last modified: January 11th, 2019 by admin