San Leon woman says she was arrested for not having a license plate light: 'It was unfair'

GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A San Leon woman is looking for answers after she spent a night in the Galveston County Jail for not having a license plate light.

"It was unfair. At the end of the day, in the simplest terms, it was unfair," Cynthia Ramirez said.

When ABC13 reporter Lileana Pearson spoke to Ramirez, she was in disbelief.

"When you're just walking around minding your own business and you end up in jail, that's scary," Ramirez said.

On Tuesday, Ramirez said she met a friend to celebrate some good news, had a drink, and drove the few minutes home when they saw red and blues in her rearview.

"The light came on, and I pulled into my driveway, and then it all fell apart," Ramirez said.

Ramirez said right away a Galveston County sheriff's deputy asked where she was coming from and how much she drank. She said she responded by asking why he was pulling her over. Ramirez said the deputy told her it was because her license plate light was out and again asked if she had been drinking. She said she told him about the one drink, but when he asked again, and again, she stopped answering.

"He took my license and he took my phone, never looked at it, and then he pushed me on the shoulders to spin me around and said, 'Ok, since you're not going to answer my questions, I'm going to arrest you,' and he did," Ramirez said.

Ramirez said that's when she noticed two other deputies had arrived. Handcuffed, she said she was having a hard time getting into the back of the deputies' SUV. Ramirez said a female deputy pushed her into the car, and she was driven away.

Ramirez was booked into the Galveston County jail, where records show her charge was not having a license plate light. Despite the many questions about drinking, she said no sobriety tests were performed. She spent the night in jail and paid $186 to bond out, go home, and check that plate light.

"It is on. I do have a light on there," Ramirez said.

When ABC13 inspected the car, one of the plate lights worked and one did not. We spoke to a legal expert who said to him the law is unclear if both lights must be working. What is clear is that the plate must be visible from 50 feet away, but because the Sheriff's department isn't answering our questions over the phone, through email, or when we showed up in person, we don't know if it was hard to make out.

Ramirez said she plans to dispute the charge before a judge and make a complaint against the arresting deputy.

"I want to believe that it was just a one-off and not a systemic issue. And that's kind of where I'm scared and my concern. Is this Galveston County, or is this that one officer's?" Ramirez said.

ABC13 did look into Ramirez's background. The only record available was a ticket for expired registration in 2024, which was dismissed after the ticket was paid off.

For more news updates, follow Lileana Pearson on Facebook, X and Instagram.