Dirty license plate leads to $1,590 fine for motorist

GRANTVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A dirty license plate has led to a $1,590 fine for a Georgia motorist.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (on-ajc.com/19h2mCB) a Grantville police officer pulled Linda Ford over last fall, while she was on her way to a church yard sale to raise money for homeless women. The newspaper reports that soot blown from the car's exhaust made it difficult to read her license plate. The officer also discovered she hadn't attached a plate decal showing her registration was current.

The newspaper reports Ford was ordered to pay $720 — many times what other neighboring communities levy when a decal isn't affixed to a car tag. It said that when she couldn't pay, a judge later raised the fine to $1,590.

Grantville is about 45 miles southwest of Atlanta.