Wes Bellamy, the 26-year-old teacher who recently announced a run for City Council, told reporters and onlookers at a press conference outside City Hall this afternoon that a clerical error following a traffic violation led him to turn himself into police this morning.
Bellamy said he was pulled over in February for a traffic violation—driving on a suspended license, according to a CBS19 story, though Bellamy declined to take questions on further details at the press conference—and was issued a court date. He said he later asked for a continuance because of a job-related time conflict. Bellamy said he was given a new date in April, but when he checked on his case Monday, he saw that the court date had never been changed, and that he had been issued a failure to appear notice. But the notice had gone to the wrong Linden Avenue address, he said, and he’d never seen it.
“After coming in and speaking with the clerk, I was sent to speak with the magistrate, who assured me that mistakes occur sometimes, for people are human,” Bellamy said. He was then released on his own recognizance, and was told by the Commonwealth’s Attorney that the failure to appear could be expunged from his record.
“I feel that it is important as leaders to understand that miscommunication happens from time to time, and people make mistakes,” Bellamy said. He called the incident “an opportunity to speak to some of the bigger issues we have in the city,” including education and economic development. “I look forward to working with the city to ensure that matters like this do not occur in the future,” he said.