If you’ve got any old VHS tapes still kicking around, now might be a good time to make sure they weren’t rentals you forgot to return way back when. Otherwise, you may find yourself clapped in handcuffs, like a North Carolina man who was recently arrested for failing to return a VHS copy of Freddy Got Fingered to a video store in 2002. Yes, this really happened.

The rental store has since closed, but that didn’t stop police from arresting the man after he was pulled over for a tail-light that was out while driving his daughter to school Tuesday morning, reports WSOC.

After the officer ran his license and a 25-minute wait, he was asked to step out of his vehicle.

“The officer said, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this but there’s a warrant out for your arrest from 2002. Apparently you rented the movie Freddy Got Fingered and never returned it.’ I thought he was joking,” said the man. Nope, not joking.

The officers let him take his daughter to school and go to work as long as he promised to turn himself in later that day. He figured he’d sort everything out at the station, so he was surprised when officers arrested him on the charge of failure to return rental property, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $200.

He says he vaguely recalls renting the movie, starring comedian Tom Green, who called the tardy customer up on Wednesday night to say hello.

The mans’ friend had shared his story with Green on Twitter, the New York Daily News reports, and the comedian found it totally hilarious, if not somewhat unreal.

The comedian, who is currently on a stand-up tour in Australia, told the NYDN that he’s happy to support fans of his film, which currently has an 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He added that he could put in a good word for the man in court, or help out with some cash — to a point.

“If it’s 200 bucks of course I’ll pay it for him, just for the principle of the thing,” Green said.

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Concord man arrested for not returning VHS rental 14 years later [WSOC]
North Carolina man arrested for not returning 2001 VHS rental of ‘Freddy Got Fingered’ could have fine paid by movie’s star Tom Green [New York Daily News]

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