Download the
Tom's Guide App from the AppsStore
News and trends on internet
/ mobile / "sound & picture" / IT
Yes No

Woman Arrested for Not Returning Overdue DVDs

- By - Source : Tom's Guide US

A pretty good reason to go Netflix.

Back when we all rented our movies on physical media formats, some of us fell victim to the late/overdue fees from our rental store. Sometimes it would take repeated phone calls or even a pesky letter before we'd get around to returning them, but eventually all would be settled.

That didn't happen to Saira Virginia Denny-Cline, an Iowa City woman, who has been arrested for keeping overdue DVDs a bit too long. Of course, she might have been a special case as she had 53 DVDs overdue, borrowed from a local library.

Denny-Cline was sent a letter from the library informing her that the 53 DVDs, valued at $1,360, were to be returned or paid for within two weeks of the notice. When they weren't returned by the deadline, the police stepped in as Denny-Cline's lack of action meant theft.

Read more here.

Follow us on Twitter for more tech news and exclusive updates here.

Share:
34
Comments
X

Comments

mianmian 12/19/2009 1:42 AM
Hide
-20+

Why the library allow her to borrow that many DVDs?

pepperman 12/19/2009 1:52 AM
Hide
-20+

^Agreed to that, but also; since when do dvds cost $25 each?

jerreece 12/19/2009 1:52 AM
Hide
-16+

mianmian :
Why the library allow her to borrow that many DVDs?



Yeah normally there's a limit as to how many books you can check out. I'd imagine they'd have a limit on DVDs too. And if you already have late materials, I can't imagine they'd let you rent more.

This sounds like a situation where the library is partially at fault for their own victimization. Not to say the lady is not at fault, obviously she's failed to return someone else's property. But still, 53 DVDs?!

jerreece 12/19/2009 1:53 AM
Hide
-3+

pepperman :
^Agreed to that, but also; since when do dvds cost $25 each?



If they are Blu-Ray or Disney movies they cost at least that much.

ravewulf 12/19/2009 2:12 AM
Hide
-13+

She shouldn't have been allowed to take out that many at a time in the first place!

SininStyle 12/19/2009 2:31 AM
Hide
-7+

wonder if she got them all at once. trying to picture some lady with a stack as tall as she is and dropping them onto the counter. ok ill take these, yup thanks.

Anonymous 12/19/2009 2:31 AM
Hide
-3+

I wonder how many of those titles are now in the $5.00 bin by now in Walmart and other stores?

socrates047 12/19/2009 2:35 AM
Hide
-3+

still not as sneaky as that gamefly guy i believe, who stole all those games.lol

The Schnoz 12/19/2009 2:43 AM
Show
yrmoma 12/19/2009 4:44 AM
Hide
--1+

pepperman :
^Agreed to that, but also; since when do dvds cost $25 each?



About the same time downloading 10 songs constitutes millions of dollars in damages. It's all a load of bull.

enzo matrix 12/19/2009 5:30 AM
Hide
-3+

pepperman :
^Agreed to that, but also; since when do dvds cost $25 each?


When they are brand new and you buy them without looking around for good prices =)

soldier37 12/19/2009 6:36 AM
Show
johntram 12/19/2009 6:43 AM
Hide
-2+

so.. you're going to watch all them movies before the due date and have time for things... like living.??? come on..enough bull from people who can't even read one book.. let alone try renting dvds and think that the library is a blockbuster. they should be arrested for being stupid

Athreex 12/19/2009 6:56 AM
Hide
-0+

ravewulf :
She shouldn't have been allowed to take out that many at a time in the first place!



mianmian :
Why the library allow her to borrow that many DVDs?



haha !...Maybe the library limits were 55 DVDs at a time. She was just trying to set a record, but failed.

OTOH, the library should not let her take that big chunk of DVDs. Maybe she has a pretty face and the guy at the register just lets her walk out with them.

sykozis 12/19/2009 2:53 PM
Hide
-2+

pepperman :
^Agreed to that, but also; since when do dvds cost $25 each?



If they were educational DVDs, which coming from a library I'd assume they are, they can get rather expensive.

sliem 12/19/2009 4:35 PM
Hide
-4+

$25/each is from damages: other people can't rent it, and also a late fee penalty.

groveborn 12/19/2009 6:27 PM
Show
Anonymous 12/19/2009 6:30 PM
Hide
-1+

$25/each is what the library would make from each DVD in rental fee's in it's life time. My local charges .50 each movie and I know of others that charge 1.00 each, so they are going easy on her. But she must have had a few accounts to get that many DVD's out.

Honis 12/19/2009 6:55 PM
Hide
-3+

$25 is pretty cheap for documentary DVDs. I know library's have non-educational DVDs with the educational so a box set of say WWII documentaries could easily cover 25 discs.

igot1forya 12/19/2009 11:15 PM
Hide
-1+

Rent DVD, Check!
Create ISO of said DVD with DVD-Decryptor, Check!
Return said DVD, Check

Don't see the problem here?

bison88 12/19/2009 11:16 PM
Hide
-5+

Toms Hardware needs to start having an "Idiot of the Week" award because I swear there is at least one covered weekly.

JustinHD81 12/20/2009 2:48 AM
Hide
-3+

Most rental DVD's cost considerably more than we consumers pay for them, I remember working for a small rental shop when i was younger and often a single rental copy would cost AUD$100+ but that was for commercial renting rather than for public not for profit renting.

akula2 12/20/2009 10:23 PM
Hide
--3+

Rab1d-BDGR :
Perhaps libraries have to buy special versions. Most DVDs say "Sale only, not for rental on them" or if you rent then they have "Rental copy" in big letters on the disc usually. So it may well be that the library DVDs did cost more.


LOL, I can't stop laughing after reading this masterpiece....ROFL.

BTW, that happens in most of the countries :)

akula2 12/20/2009 10:25 PM
Show
matt87_50 12/21/2009 12:45 PM
Hide
-2+

"A pretty good reason to go Netflix."

or... you could just return them on time...
but there are many other reasons to go Netflix

"fell victim to the late/overdue fees"

I'd be more inclined to say that the video rental place fell victim to people who stole their videos. late fees are a fact, that you can be advised of before they happen, and easily avoid. I'd hardly call you a victim when you get charged them. On the other hand, the video stores just have to hope that you will bring 'em back like you should.

nachowarrior 12/21/2009 2:48 AM
Show
hellwig 12/21/2009 5:07 PM
Hide
-0+

This is Iowa folks, she probably didn't even own a DVD player, she probably just borrowed the shiny disks cause the mirror ain't done worked right since Jed done smashed a tall-boy into his reflected forehead.

And ditto as to what the hell the library was thinking lending her out that many at a time.

eccentric909 12/21/2009 6:06 PM
Hide
-1+

back_by_demand :
Yeah, blame it on Obama, good one. Try to brush over the fact this idiotic woman took 53 DVD's out of a library and kept them, despite being warned. It doesn't matter if it is a book, a DVD or a rental car, if you don't return it you should be arrested because it is stealing.



I too am trying to figure out what Obama would have to do with this as well. Considering laws concerning theft have been on the "books" longer than Obama has been alive. The library sent a letter, requesting back their 53 DVDs, she didn't comply, therefore it is now considered theft.

Then again, the person you quoted was also ranting in another article about how Queer-o-sexuals (read: Gays/Lesbians) are the downfall of the US, so I'm not really surprised at his whining about how this would be Obama's fault. As if this has anything to do with politics in the first place. *rolls eyes*

ckthecerealkiller 12/21/2009 7:11 PM
Hide
-1+

I remember keeping a book late for like a month when I was really young. I go in expecting to pay a considerable fine close to what they charge you for a movie rental. Before I crap my pants she says "The fine will be 60 cents." ....... "Seriously?" ... "Can you break a dollar?" "I'm sorry I don't have any change." What?

Figure the fine is 20 cents a week, and she rented about 3 movies a week over 16 weeks. The total fine would come out to about $100 (I got 102.4 with some fast math.) And they hold her on a $7,500 bond. Wow she just got the shaft, should have returned the movies!

Hanin33 12/21/2009 8:08 PM
Hide
-0+

back_by_demand :
Yeah, blame it on Obama, good one.



back_by_demand: Soldier37 is just another "blame it on Obama" fundie troll... disregard anything they say...

Parrdacc 12/21/2009 8:37 PM
Hide
-1+

Wow!. So much better than having the police arrest a drug dealer, kingpin, murderer, or any of the other more important crimes. Not that what she did was right or anything, she should have returned them I just question 1. Why did they allow her to have so many to begin with. I mean after about 5 I would have said no more till I get some back. 2. The price seems very overstated. I wonder how many officers they sent to grab this nefarious criminal, and how many meth labs and dead hookers they passed on their way to get her.