INDEPENDENCE, Missouri - January 23, 2009 - An Independence woman charged with theft for failing to return a library book said Friday she is both embarrassed and angered by the arrest.

“I do think it’s extreme going to jail over a library book,” Shelly Koontz, who underwent fingerprinting and mug-shooting during her booking Thursday night at the Buchanan County Jail, told The Gazette.

Independence police arrested Koontz at her home about 8:30 p.m. on a warrant charging her with fifth-degree theft, a misdemeanor, for not returning “The Freedom Writers Diary.” She had checked the book out of the Jesup Public Library in April.

“It was my fault, and I should have had it back, but I was busy,” Koontz, 39, a third-shift worker at Deere & Company in Waterloo, said. Koontz is a single mother of two teenage daughters and is helping raise a grandson. She said she was engaged in moving her family from Jesup to Independence in October, when the library turned the matter over to police.

Given the dislocation of moving, Koontz said she’s not sure what became of the book, but said she would be happy to pay for it “or do whatever I need to do to make it right.”

Koontz said she checked out the book after seeing the movie based on it, “Freedom Writers,” starring Hilary Swank. “My daughters and I talked about the movie, and I wanted them to read the book,” which recounts the true story of a high school teacher, who used writing assignments to inspire her inner city students to overcome obstacles, said Koontz.

Jesup Police Chief Rick Deitrick said the book was valued at $13.95. “Theft is theft, no matter what it is,” said Deitrick.

Library employees tried to contact Koontz with four phone calls, three letters and one certified letter, according to a criminal complaint. A Jesup police officer visited her home in September and informed one of Koontz’s daughters that Koontz needed to pay for the book or return it.

When the book still hadn’t been returned by October 10, a library official called the police again, wishing to proceed with theft charges.

“That’s about all the library can do,” said Deitrick.

Jesup Public Library Director Cindy Lellig declined to comment. Koontz said she is glad to be gone from Jesup. “If you were not born there, you were not accepted,” she said.

Koontz’s mother, Jackie Gantz of rural Brandon, who helped her daughter post the $250 bond needed to get out of jail, called the whole situation ridiculous. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said.

Koontz said her co-workers told her she ought to report the incident to the nationally syndicated “Bob & Tom” radio show, which finds humor in offbeat news.

“You have to have a sense of humor. Maybe I’ll tell the judge I’m a slow reader,” she said.