A vigilant NBC 5 viewer who received a parking ticket in his Garland neighborhood ended up uncovering what officials in a neighboring city are calling a “mistake.”

It is an “error” that could happen in communities sharing boundaries.

It’s not the infraction that Donny Triplett had a problem with.

“It was for parking in the wrong direction. I’m not going to argue that,” he said.

What he takes issue with is who posted the $45 citation on his truck one Saturday morning in late July.

It’s something that’s never happened in the 21 years he’s called Garland home.

“I went inside to pay it, but then I realized it did not say the city of Garland, it did not say the County of Dallas, it said the city of Dallas,” said Triplett. “I do not live in the city of Dallas.”

Despite bordering the city of Dallas, the 4600 block of Princeton Dr., where Triplett lives, is completely inside the Garland city limits.

Something was not right, he thought, but he never imagined how difficult it would be not only to clear his case but also how many more people had also been cited.

“I called Garland’s non‑emergency number, and they said Dallas does not have the authorization to ticket people in the city of Garland, so it started from there,” said Triplett.

It took days and multiple calls dealing with double the bureaucracy that ended in dead ends.

“The city of Dallas was saying that you need to get with the city of Garland and let them work this out, so I got hung in the middle,” he said.

Triplett researched Garland’s city website and online public records and discovered that the cities respond differently to this type of violation.

The city of Garland has lowered the fine amount and type of violation.

“If I’d gotten a Garland ticket, which is who should have gave it, a ticket was only $20,” he said. “These tickets were for $45 each, so we’re paying more for the city of Dallas tickets and where is that money going? I’m paying out of my pocket to finance Dallas?”

Triplett is grateful for a Garland neighborhood police officer who stepped in and contacted the city of Dallas.

He was eventually able to successfully contest his citation and reached out to NBC 5’s Maria Guerrero to advocate for anybody else mistakenly cited.

“When I drove down the street, there was 14 tickets on my street,” he said.

Neighbor Gemma Pai is among a number of Garland residents who were also issued a citation for parking in the wrong direction.

Pai recalls watching as a female officer went from car to car issuing the tickets.

Unlike Triplett, Pai says she had her son pay the $45 ticket, fearing the subsequent fines of $85 and $115.

Although she did find it odd.

“I said, they can do that also,” she said. “Well, maybe? I don’t know, but you know, we’re not in the power.”

After NBC 5 took their complaints to the city of Dallas, its Department of Transportation and Public Works acknowledged in a statement on Friday:

“On July 26, one of the city’s new parking enforcement officers unintentionally crossed into Garland and issued 13 citations on the 4600 block and 4700 block of Princeton.

Seven of those citations have since been voided at the request of Parking Enforcement. Two were dismissed through administrative hearings. Four of them were paid and were unable to be voided, but refunds are being processed for those four paid tickets.

While not common, these types of errors can occur along city boundaries. When the City learns of these cases, it verifies whether the citations were outside of city limits and voids them. If payments were made, the City initiates a process to refund them. It is standard procedure to review these cases to ensure they are avoided in the future.”

Pai simply doesn’t buy the “mistake.”

“I don’t think it’s a simple mistake,” she said. “I don’t think that they don’t know what is this [city.”

Triplett, who has been dealing with medical problems, says he can’t help but feel disappointed in his own city, “because I was hoping from the beginning that Garland from the beginning would stand up and take control of this situation… Could I have been an innocent mistake? Yes, it could have been, but it should’ve been corrected.”

If not for his tenacity, Triplett’s neighbor says the error may not have ever been fixed.

According to the city of Dallas, drivers who feel they were ticketed while parked outside the city limits should contact Parking Enforcement and Management.

The office can verify the situation, determine if other citations are affected, and move forward with the refund process.

A city of Garland spokesperson provided NBC 5 with the following information on Friday, stating:

“City Marshal’s office who is responsible for Garland’s parking enforcement. They confirmed that no tickets were issued on Princeton Drive from the City of Garland around July 26. In case you need any additional information regarding Garland’s parking enforcement, here’s a link to our City Marshal’s page on the City website.”