A special message for all you Teresas out there: stay the hell out of Atlanta for a while. If you already live there, flee at once! Otherwise you could be arrested and jailed for almost two months because of your first name, like Teresa Culpepper was.

Back in August, Culpepper called the police to report that her truck had been stolen. Instead of assisting her, police handcuffed her and hauled her off to the Fulton County Jail, where she spent 53 days for an aggravated assault allegedly committed by a different Teresa. "Her birth date didn't match. Her address didn't match. Her description didn't match. Other than the name Teresa, nothing matched" the actual suspect's information, Culpepper's attorney told the news. Culpepper regained her freedom after receiving help from a public defender.

Seems like Culpepper could have been spared all that jail time had the cops done, like, any background checking at all. Then again, maybe it was a hot day and they didn't feel like doing any work. We've all been there. At any rate, the real Teresa still hasn't been apprehended, so all Teresas in Atlanta remain at risk of arrest. Maybe you Teresas can pool together your resources and rent a plane or a fleet of buses to take you someplace safer, like Macon.

[Journal-Constitution]