Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones has offered to come to the rescue of a 68-year-old cafeteria worker who is sitting in jail for stealing $1.5 million of chicken wings.
How? He will pay $1.5 million of his own money to cover the cost of the stolen wings.
Vera Liddell, who was working as a cafeteria consultant for an Illinois school district, diverted shipments of 11,000 cases of chicken wings between July 2020 and February 2022. Liddell would then sell the wings and use the proceeds to fund her severe gambling addiction.
The chicken wings were intended to feed poor children receiving free lunches during the pandemic.
“On Friday, Aug. 9, Liddell pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft of more than $1 million and was sentenced to 9 years in prison, according to the Cook County’s Sixth Municipal District Circuit Court clerk’s office,” People.com reported.
Jones made his intention to pay for the stolen wings in a caption to a story about the crime on X.
I’ll pay for the wings that she stole to get her free https://t.co/0mr1Bl9dWR
— Chris Jones (@StoneColdJones) August 13, 2024
It’s unclear whether Jones’ assistance will change anything, even if it happens.
Paying for the stolen wings doesn’t make the crime go away. There’s also the issue of the crime itself. Liddell wasn’t stealing the wings to feed a starving family. In fact, she was stealing them from needy people for her own selfish reward.
Maybe Jones is aware of that and still willing to help. Maybe not. In any event, the story’s details are a lot more complicated than the headline may suggest.
Still, Liddell’s lawyer believes his client is a good person stricken with a disease that compelled her to make a wrong decision.
“She’s just a little sweetheart that’s got a gambling problem,” says Liddell’s attorney, Patrick O’Byrne. “She feels beyond terrible about this. This is totally uncharacteristic of her. It was the disease taking over.”
According to Pro Football Talk, Liddell’s attorneys have 30 days from her August 9 sentencing date to “file a motion to vacate her guilty plea and request a payment of restitution instead.”
Jones’ offer suddenly makes that a realistic possibility.
