If you were around in the heyday of video store rentals, you know all about the dreaded late fees. Back then, Blockbuster Video could ding you for $2.99 a day for your late copy of Jurassic Park or The Matrix. Heaven forbid you took a week-long vacation. If you forgot to send the VHS tape back to the drop box, it was a small fortune.
Well, one former Oklahoma resident is facing actual embezzlement charges based on an overdue rental from 20 years ago. And the tape in question wasn’t even a movie! It was episodes of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Salem the cat, we love you. But you’re not worth the prison time.
The story comes to us from KOKH, a local Fox News affiliate (via Gizmodo). Caron McBride, who now lives in Texas, discovered her status as a serious felon when visiting the DMV to change her name on her driver’s license. The DMV then informed her of the charges she had back in her home state, charges of “felony embezzlement of rented property.” This all happened way back in 2000. McBride stressed that she didn’t even remember ever renting a tape of “Samantha the Teenage Witch.” (She’s confusing Sabrina with Bewitched, but that’s fairly understandable.)
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In fact, McBride never even saw the tape. She is pretty sure a former boyfriend rented the tape for his two daughters. McBride says Sabrina “was not her cup of tea.” Maybe she would like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix more? The video store in question hasn’t even existed since 2008. Sadly, the felony charges on her background checks probably cost her several jobs, and she had no idea why. Thankfully, these charges have now been dropped. Thus, McBride can finally move on from the two-decade “shame” of the late movie that was never returned.
Featured Image: CBS Evening News