Texas mom Kaylee Morgan gets warrant issued for her arrest over late library books: ‘Just bonkers’

In Texas, a mother of five recently found herself in a sticky situation after learning she was facing prison for library books that her county said were never returned.

Kaylee Morgan released books about Vincent van Gogh from the Navasota Public Library in Grimes County, Texas in March 2023.

She told Fox News Digital that she did return all the books she borrowed, but this one was too big to fit in a return box.

Court documents obtained by Fox News Digital show the combined value of the two books was $60, but Morgan received a bill for $569.50 – mostly fines and court costs.

She was also charged with a violation of city ordinances.

“The warrant is ACTIVE for your arrest,” one alarming document reads. “Act now to avoid going to jail.” »

But Morgan was unaware until recently that these months-old documents existed.

The mother said the problems began when she completed the innocent task of renewing her driver’s license last week.

“So I walk in and the DMV tells me they can’t renew my license because I have a warrant out for my arrest, and I audibly laugh,” she explained in a video posted to Facebook . “And I’m shocked because I haven’t been arrested, I don’t have tickets. It just doesn’t make sense. »

“I stay at home most of the time. I was homeschooling my kids, so it just didn’t add up to what she was saying.

Morgan then called the local court to see what the problem was – and was told she had two overdue library books.

The stressed mother then made an appointment with the judge.

“It’s so stupid. So stupid. I have a warrant out for my arrest for overdue library books. Okay… that’s not wrong. It’s not made up,” she said, perplexed.

During her meeting with the county judge, Morgan explained that she homeschooled her five children and had a difficult pregnancy at the time the books were to be released to the public.

“(At the meeting) I explain that we returned the books,” she said. “There was one that was too big to fit in the return box. And when we returned it, the system was down, but I definitely returned it.

“And that, at most, was two weeks late,” Morgan added. “Maybe more than that, but I was pregnant and having complications, and I was in bed.”

The judge’s response was less than sympathetic, Morgan said.

“She told me she didn’t want to hear my excuses, that I needed to take responsibility,” Morgan recalls. “She said what I did by not returning library books was like stealing from Walmart.”

“So in my record it says I stole government property. It’s crazy, right? Just crazy.

The judge added that the arrest warrant was still in effect and that Morgan would not be allowed to renew her driver’s license until she paid the $600 ticket – a considerable sum for a family of five to just one income.

“She said, make no mistake, if you are driving in Grimes County with or without your children and you are stopped, we will arrest you. Then they will arrest me in front of my children…I don’t know what I’m going to do about it.

Morgan says she technically didn’t receive a warrant because she was completely unaware of one.

“(The judge) said they issued the warrant and someone signed it, and I said it wasn’t me,” she said. “I didn’t sign up for this. I would know if I had signed his warrant because I wouldn’t drive. I don’t want to go to prison. And I asked her who signed it, and she said it didn’t matter.

The mother raised more than $1,300 through GoFundMe, which helped pay the fines.

She now plans to hire a lawyer and get this whole mess removed from her record.

Morgan told Fox News Digital that she has received a lot of support over the situation and has not received a response from authorities since she went public with the situation.

“The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive,” she said. “There are some who don’t understand that I returned the book and others think I’m carrying out a smear campaign.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Navasota County Judge, Grimes County Judge and Navasota City Manager, but did not receive a response.