Free Candy!
Beat the system - with candy!
Coordinated Kitty Naps
Zoro and Sanji napping in almost exactly the same pose
…Time for this week’s story…
Free Candy!
“The police say this was the city’s first successful bank robbery in over a decade. However, it didn’t take long for police to track down a suspect perfectly matching eye-witness descriptions. The suspect’s name is Phillip Candy, a local with no previous criminal history. Thankfully, only minor injuries were sustained from the incident. Unfortunately, the stolen money has not been recovered. Police are looking for a drop spot where the thief could have hidden it and welcome any assistance from the public.”
The biggest news of the day covered every screen and local news show. A daring bank robbery had gone right, but only for an hour or so before police caught up with their suspect. Once behind bars, he was allowed a phone call. Without a lawyer, Phillip thought frantically about who to call. His mother would be useless, his siblings lived in other states, and his girlfriend had broken up with him a few weeks prior. Afraid for his future, Phillip hugged the sweater a kind stranger had given him the week prior for looking so down in the dumps. In desperation, he dialed the only number he could remember.
“Hello?”
“John! John, it’s me, Phillip. You’ve got to help me, man. They think I robbed a bank!”
“Phillip?” John sat up on his couch. “Dude, you’re on the news. What happened?”
“I guess I matched the description of the bank robber. Dude, you’ve got to help me! I don’t know what to do.”
“Did you actually fit the description, or did they grab you because you’re black?”
“That’s what I thought at first, but then they showed me the tape. He looks just like me! We have the same haircut and were even wearing the same sweater! It looks like I did it.”
“Wow, that’s wild.” John watched the video playing on the news. Indeed, it looked like Phillip.
“You’ve got to help me, man! What about your lawyer friends?” Phillip asked desperately.
“Bro, just because I’m white doesn’t mean I know any lawyers.”
“Isn’t Dave a lawyer?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about Dave. But, he works in family court.”
“Can you at least try?” Phillip pleaded.
“Okay, I’ll give it a shot. Don’t worry, man, I’ll get you out of there.”
John called Dave, who couldn’t help but offered advice. He told John to raise awareness and get character witnesses. He also needed to establish a timeline of Phillip’s whereabouts. John had his mission, and he carried it out with diligence.
The coffee shop where Phillip had been hanging out during the robbery said the cameras outside were to scare people away, but didn’t actually function. Phillip’s ex-girlfriend didn’t even answer John’s calls. John talked to several friends and compiled a video of their character testimonies. He followed a news van so he could barge in on an unrelated report to tell the world Phillip was innocent. He tried showing them the video, but they chased him away like a crazy person.
Wanting to blast the video to the world, John made a social media account under the name Free Candy. He posted the video and figured out how to promote the post. It got a few hits, but was mostly a dud. The second attempt included heartwarming music, but still, nothing. To get people to listen, he bought candy and printed out information to staple to it. Passing them out as he walked down the street, John finally felt like he was getting somewhere. People actually stopped to talk. His social media account got more followers, and the video began to spread. The guy at the printer joined the cause and offered to make a free vinyl decal. John plastered the colorful ‘Free Candy!’ decal on the side of his van.
In jail, Phillip’s court-appointed lawyer was pushing for him to accept a plea deal and only serve eight years in prison. Phillip had heard nothing from John, but wouldn’t cave. He insisted he was innocent. The police said they had him red-handed, and there was no way he was getting out of it. Phillip had never been very religious, but he began to pray every day and every night.
After two weeks of trying to bring attention to Phillip’s innocence, John took a break for lunch. He parked at a park around the corner from a food truck. Some kids ran up to his van and asked if they could have some candy.
“Oh, sure.” John ripped off the papers stapled to the fun-sized candies and handed them to the kids.
“Thanks, mister!” The children ran off.
“Yeah, no problem.” John waved and walked down the street. He returned to his van and ate in his vehicle before getting back to the grind.
“Freeze! Don’t move!”
A police officer appeared next to his window. John threw his hands in the air. He was surrounded by police officers pointing their guns at him.
“What? Me?”
“Get out of the vehicle! You’re under arrest, pervert!” barked a balding officer.
“What are you talking about?” John tried asking questions, but his door was opened for him, and he was wrestled to the ground and told to shut up. Local news reported on the event. One station interviewed the food truck where John had gotten lunch.
“The guy giving out free candy? That guy was trying to bring attention to his friend being innocent. See, look.” The paunchy Latin man showed them the paper handout, which had been stapled to the candy John gave him earlier that day.
The story exploded, and people wanted answers. John was released that night, and Phillip was released a few days later. Once the story got so much attention, the police looked into Phillip’s claims. They realized the man who had previously given him the sweater also matched the description and tracked him down quickly. In fact, security cameras placed him near Phillip numerous times. Phillip had been his scapegoat.
Finally, justice was served, and Phillip Candy was free.