Stolen licence plate haunts Spruce Grove man

A Spruce Grove man says he has spent at least 10 hours fighting speeding violations he did not commit.

Zachary Kendrick'slicence plate was stolen in 2014. He reported the theft to police, registered a new plateand thought the issue had been dealt with. Then he started getting speeding tickets in the mail.

To date, Kendrick sayshe's received 15 speeding ticketsbecause of the stolen plate. If he wants to avoid paying the fee, he has to drive from Spruce Grove to Edmonton to clear his name in court.

"I'm frustrated.I'm being punished for a crime that I didn't do."

The 22-year-old visitedprovincial court in Edmonton for the third time Wednesday. He stood in line fourtimes, waited an hour to speak to a judgeand swore on the Bible he'sdone nothing wrong.

"Weren't you here yesterday?" one clerk asked.

One ticket overlooked

Kendrick hadcleared five tickets at once the day before, but says a sixth one had been overlooked. That's whyhe hadto make another 45-minute drivetoEdmonton.

More than an hour after arriving at the courthouse, Kendrick spentjust two minutes talking to a judge. He was supposed to appear in court on Jan. 14, but says he missed thatdate because he couldn't get time off work.

"When you get a ticket, you come to court," the judge saidbefore striking the ticket from Kendrick's record. "You can't just set it aside and hope that it goes away,but I'm going to cut you a bit of slack."

As Kendrick left the courtroom, he shook his head. He says he shouldn't have to come to court in the first place.

He tried to have the stolen licence plate removed from his record at a registry office, but saysstaff told him there was nothing they could do.

"They all just told me that it's an unfortunate situation," Kendrick says."I'm starting to feel hopeless, that there's nothing more that anyone can do, and I really just wish the issue could be resolved."

Issue should be resolved: lawyer

Paul Moreau, an Edmonton lawyer, says the issue should have beenresolved already.

"I don't know what else a normal person would be expected to do," he says. "It sounds like he's done everything right."

Moreauadvises Kendrick to go back to the registry office to ask for a supervisor. He suspects "there's a flaw in the system or someone hasn't done their job,or possibly both."

After Kendrickrevisitsthe registry office, Moreau says he should also go back to the police station.

"This stolen plate of his is rolling around the city on a car and somebody's got it and there are pictures being taken of it, so the police should be made aware of that situation."

Kendrick says a prosecutor told him the stolen licence plate number BGK9416 is being used on a grey1998GMCSierra1500, the same type of pickup truck Kendrickused to own.

Use anti-theft screws to deter theft

Service Alberta also recommends using anti-theft screws to prevent another licence-plate theft. The special screws arefreeat all Edmonton police stations.

"If an individual receives a ticket associated with the stolen plate, they should call the number on the back of the ticket and provide the police file number to the representative to have the ticket waived,"Cheryl Tkalcic, a spokesperson for Service Alberta,wrote in a statement to CBC.

Kendrick says that's exactly what he did, but that he was told the issue couldn't be handled over the phone. Henowplans to go back to a registry office to have his name cleared for good.