Brandon Soules must have really wanted some time off from the tire store where he worked. Police in Coolidge, Arizona charged the 19-year-old man with false reporting to law enforcement after they discovered that he likely faked his own kidnapping.
Soules was found bound and gagged two weeks ago after officers responded to a call about an injured man. When they arrived, they found Soules with his hands behind his back bound by a belt and a purple bandanna stuffed in his mouth.
He told authorities that he was abducted by two masked men, who drove him around demanding that he tell them where his father buried a large amount of money in the desert. During their investigation, police uncovered no evidence of a kidnapping, discovering instead that Soules’ text messages and phone records did not match up with his story.
Soules later confessed that he made up the story to get out of work. He is now facing a misdemeanor, and it is unclear if he has an attorney. He’s made no statement on the incident.
Read More: Congress has more diversity than ever, but Hill staffers remain majority white
Now, he’ll have plenty of time off. After this stunt, Soules has been fired from his job at the tire shop.
Residents of the small community of Coolidge, located about 40 miles outside Scottsdale, said the Soules scare caused a panic. “It cost taxpayers a lot of money to do all this stuff and look for whoever supposedly kidnapped the guy,” Clay Gullens said.
Read More: First responder reveals Tiger Woods’ response to accident
Others said they were relieved that there wasn’t a bigger criminal scheme at work. “It’s very important to know that,” one of them said, “because everyone’s gotta be safe.”
Another opined: “If you don’t like what you’re doing quit, find another job. You don’t go through all that trouble not to go to work.”
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s “Dear Culture” podcast? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio.com today!