Houston resident, Paul Aker told the local Fox News affiliate, U.S. Marshals wearing combat gear toting automatic weapons showed up at his house over a $1,500 student loan that he took out in 1987.
“I was wondering, why are you here? I’m home. I haven’t done anything,” says Aker.
He claims he was arrested, put in shackles, and sent to Federal court and put in a 4×4 sized jail cell for around an hour. Immediately following, Aker says he was taken to the judge for a hearing, surrounded by seven U.S. Marshals. Aker states that he stood before the court without prior notice of this debt since the late 1980s, no rights read to him, and no legal representation.
The U.S. Marshals have a more complex side of the story.
“Marshals spoke with Aker by phone and requested he appear in court, but Aker refused,” states the U.S. Marshal Service. “A federal judge then issued a warrant for Aker’s arrest for failing to appear at a December 14, 2012, hearing.” The agents claim they had been trying to reach Aker for years, and last Thursday, finally caught up with him. Two Marshals allegedly attempted to arrest him but were met with resistance, and told by Aker that he “had a gun”. This statement caused the two Marshals to request “additional law enforcement assistance”. It then took two hours to convince Aker to “peacefully exit his home.”
Court documents state that Aker was ordered to pay $1,258 to reimburse the Federal government the costs of his arrest, and an additional $3,800 since it has more than doubled as interest accrued.
Here are the original complaints against Aker.
And the arrest warrant.
Did Maya Rudolph tell us best?
