Woman drives stolen car to pay off ticket

MANNING, S.C. - A woman who went to court to pay a traffic ticket drove there in a stolen car and ended up behind bars, authorities said.

Clarendon County sheriff's deputies received a tip that Amber Renee Helton was going to be in a stolen car when she paid the ticket, Chief Deputy Joe Bradham said.

They arrested her as she opened the door of the 2001 Dodge Intrepid on Tuesday morning, authorities said.
Helton, 21, and her passenger, 35-year-old Terry Lynn Alvery, were charged with possessing a stolen vehicle, Bradham said.

Helton was being held at the Clarendon jail Wednesday in lieu of $5,000 bail. It was unclear whether she had an attorney, and a message left at the public defender's office was not immediately returned.

The vehicle had been reported stolen Aug. 28 in Tennessee, authorities said.

Helton had been in court less than a week before and was acquitted of possessing a stolen tag but convicted of driving without a license, Bradham said.

"I guess she thought, Hey, I got away with having a stolen tag. I might get away with the entire car,' " Bradham said.

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