The Peril of Missing the Appointment
There are many ways for a man to get himself into trouble with the law, and some require elaborate schemes, expensive machinery, and a level of imagination that would be wasted on honest employment. Others require nothing more than failing to complete the proper paperwork on time.
In Dayton, the latter method showed once again that the machinery of government can be remarkably efficient when you have forgotten an appointment.
At approximately 10:40 on the morning of September 16, deputies with the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office Western Command Patrol Area encountered 43-year-old Dayton resident Christopher Hartle at the Dayton Substation. The meeting was apparently not a social call, nor was it one of those pleasant government visits in which everybody shakes hands and goes home with a pamphlet.
According to the sheriff’s office, Hartle was required to complete a sex-offender verification within a specified period and had failed to do so. Deputies determined that the missed verification constituted a felony violation of NRS 179D.550.
Thus the ancient American principle was once again demonstrated. If the government tells you to fill out a form, do it, because somewhere in a filing cabinet there may be a statute waiting to make your forgetfulness considerably more expensive.
Hartle was arrested and transported to the Lyon County Jail without incident. He was booked on one felony count of violating his registration requirements, and bail was set at $5,000.
The sheriff’s office said it maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward registered sex offenders who fail to comply with statutory registration requirements and will continue taking enforcement action when violations are discovered.
This is understandable. Civilization depends upon many things—roads, electricity, plumbing and the general willingness of citizens to comply with paperwork. The first three can fail and still leave you with a tolerable afternoon. The fourth, however, will turn an ordinary Wednesday into a ride to jail.
And so Dayton has been reminded of another great law of modern life: you may forget your appointment, but the appointment will not forget you.
