Bad Result for Good Samaritan - KATV - Breaking News, Weather and Razorback Sports

A Memorial Day trip to the swimming pool has turned into a Monday trip to court for one North Little Rock woman.

Tonight we have a story about a bad deal for a Good Samaritan.

The next time Betty Fernau spots a cell phone left behind by its owner, please forgive her if she just walks on by.

Here's why.

When Fernau spotted an i-Phone 4-S left on a poolside chair, she tried calling the last number dialed but got no answer.

She called Siri but no contact had been set up.

She considered turning it in but…

"The only employees at the pool were teenagers," recalls Fernau.  "And I didn't think that would be a good idea…to give it to the teenagers."

So Fernau…owner of her own i-Phone 4-S…took the phone home to keep it safe while she tried to locate the owner.

She sent an email to the owner but got no response.

She planned on taking it to an AT&T store the next day so the SIM card could be used to find the owner but never got the chance.

"Before I could take it to the AT&T store the police came to my house along with the owner and he asked me if I had found a phone and I told him yes and handed it to him immediately," says Fernau.  "He walked it over to the owner and came back and told me she was very happy."

Maybe not.  

A week later Fernau got a card in the mail informing her that a warrant had been issued for her arrest.

She is being charged with theft of property.

"Monday morning I will go down to the Jacksonville police station and I will turn myself in," says Fernau.  "I'll have to pay a bail bondsman to bail out I guess. I'll get a court date. But I will be pleading not guilty."

Jacksonville prosecutor Marti Parker filed the charge against Fernau, and her supervisor Will Jones signed off on it.

Neither were available for comment or explanation today.

Air date:  June 15^th, 2012