A mother in Fresno, California was gobsmacked when she got hit with an $88,000 fine after her kids gathered seashells during a family trip to Pismo Beach, seashells that turned out to be live clams.
Thankfully, she was able to explain the situation to a judge who reduced the fine but the fact that this ordeal was dragged out to that point goes to show how common sense is nowhere to be found sometimes (we’re looking at you, Louisville PD arresting Scottie Scheffler).
The Fresno resident told ABC7 Eyewitness News that she believed her kids were just gathering seashells. Her kids also believed they were gathering seashells and they had collected quite the haul over the course of their beach day, 72 shells in total.
But those 72 seashells turned out to be live clams and clamming is heavily regulated which resulted in a ticket of $88,000:
Because the clams were both alive and the seashells were intact, mom received the insane ticket on behalf of her kids who were none the wiser. What could have been solved on the spot with a community education moment instead escalated to an appearance in court.
When Charlotte Russ explained her situation to a San Luis Obispo County judge he quickly reduced the fine from $88,000 to $500 which is still significant and would have been more than enough to ensure the kids who gathered live clams learned an expensive lesson. Instead, this drew out over the course of six months and created a ton of anxiety for the family.
As I mentioned above, the solution here was always public education. If the children were made aware of the live clams, restrictions on harvesting clams, and fines involved, it never would have happened in the first place.
The post Mother Disputes $88K Fine After Kids Gather Seashells By The Seashore That Turned Out To Be Live Clams appeared first on BroBible.