A Tale of True Crime in the South

In 1971, a man entered a small bank in a small North Carolina town and demanded all the money in the safe.

The police arrived at the scene within minutes but mistook another man in the building for the robber. Despite his cries of innocence, the suspect was arrested while the true thief escaped undetected.

When the man was presented to the public as the alleged perpetrator, the media noted that the case against him was thin and suggested that the incident might be one of mistaken identity. Captivated by the theory, the public grew to believe the accused to be a victim of unjust persecution by the judicial system—showering him with support and adoration. Subsequently, after appearing in court and having the charges against him dismissed due to a lack of evidence, the accidental martyr was set free.

. . .

In the years that followed, the once-admiring public lost interest: first in the man's story, and eventually in the man. Riddled with cold, sleepless nights spent longing for the warmth of the fame and celebrity that the events of years prior had brought, the man entered a bank in the neighboring county one afternoon and demanded all the money in the safe.

Coincidentally, in that bank, on that day, and at that moment ... the never previously apprehended thief responsible for the years-old crime was depositing a paycheck to the teller inside.

When the speedy police arrived this time, they mistook the depositor for the robber committing the theft in progress while his once inadvertent patsy fled unnoticed. But after the now-innocent patron was arrested and presented to the courts as the contemporary culprit—while his prior offense remained undiscovered—he too was released thanks to the case against him having been built upon insufficient evidence.

. . .

Neither man ever contacted the other—nor any authorities—regarding his respective role in the crime which he committed, but for which the other was arrested.

Neither man was ever brought to justice.