Prosecutor's paperwork error prompts honor student's arrest

Rachael Moore, 16, is president of the Perryville High School drama club, editor of the yearbook, a member of the National Honor Society, a member of the all-district choir and a varsity softball player.

But on Tuesday, she was asked to leave class by school resource officer Joe Berry, told the Perry County Sheriff's Office had a warrant for her arrest and, she said, handcuffed in the school lobby.

"I thought she was joking when she first told me," her friend Reese Nation said.

Moore was equally surprised. When she saw Berry enter her World Mythology class, with just 30 minutes remaining in the day, she thought something might have happened to her parents, or there was some other type of family emergency. She was not thinking about the traffic ticket she received back in August.

Moore was pulled over by a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer for driving five miles over the speed limit in mid-August, her mom, Shelly Moore, said. The officer gave Rachael Moore a warning for speeding but a ticket for not having updated proof of car insurance.

Shelly Moore -- no relation to the Cape Girardeau city councilor of the same name -- thought she had taken care of the problem when she copied an updated insurance card for Moore's vehicle and gave it to the Perry County prosecutor's office, along with a copy of the ticket.

The Perry County office had not yet received the ticket, but they told Shelly Moore they would clear everything up. Because the Highway Patrol conducted the traffic stop, Shelly Moore did not even have the option to pay the ticket.

"It did not get sent along with the ticket," Perry County Prosecutor Tom Hoeh said. "We get between 60 and 75 tickets a week. That proof of insurance did not get over to the court clerk. I apologized to the mother about this."

Rachael Moore had missed her mandated court date specified on the ticket, which was the reason for the warrant.

"He was the one that really dropped the ball," Shelly Moore said of Hoeh.

Shelly Moore said the sheriff's office could have handled the situation better by waiting for Rachael to leave school.

Sheriff Gary Schaaf said he was not sure whether Berry or deputy James Hill knew where the Moores lived.

"It's an unfortunate situation. We're sorry it happened," Schaaf said. "The guys who did it were performing within the law. If it was anybody else, they would have done the same thing."

Although she spent only 15 minutes in the holding room at Perry County's jail, Rachael Moore said she was embarrassed, compounded by the fact some students saw when she was handcuffed.

"I had never remembered officers coming and physically arresting someone," she said.

It did not take long for rumors to circulate. Rachael Moore said the common presumption was the arrest was for marijuana.

Early Wednesday morning, Rachael Moore sent out a message on Facebook hoping to clear up misinformation.

"With everyone talking, I was kind of angry at the time," Rachael Moore said. "I hadn't done anything wrong; I hadn't committed a crime, and I wanted to let people know."

A couple of days removed from the incident, Rachael was no longer angry.

"I don't want to put blame on anyone. It was paperwork," she said. "I think it's the system -- it lags behind on this type of stuff."

bkleine@semissourian.com

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