A wanted man handed himself into police after losing a bet he made with officers on Facebook.
Michael Zaydel, of Michigan, had promised to give himself up if a Facebook post about an existing arrest warrant ‘received more than a thousand shares’.
The 21-year-old even promised to bring Redford Township Police Department (RTPD) officers a dozen doughnuts if they were victorious in the challenge.
Zaydel, known on Facebook as Champagne Torino, wrote:
Yeah I’m not worried about it. If your next post gets a thousand shares I’ll turn myself in with a dozen doughnuts and that’s a promise.
And I’ll pick up every piece of litter around your public schools, let’s see if you can get those shares.
The police department said he ‘may or may not be a man of his word,’ adding, ‘it is our experience everyone gets caught at some point. He has drawn a lot of attention to himself, and that makes it hard to hide from reality.’
Of course, the post was shared more than four thousand times and the police department shared a ‘mic-drop’ image along with a ‘thank you’.
However, yesterday, the fugitive surrendered, fulfilling his promise by arriving at the station with doughnuts… and a bagel.
In a Facebook post, Redford Township Police Department wrote:
Zaydel made good on his promise to turn himself in to RTPD for his outstanding warrants.
He walked in on his own and not only did he bring the doughnuts, he brought one bagel!
We would again like to express our gratitude for the support of all who followed this, shared it and left us positive feedback.
Officer Jennifer Mansfield told UNILAD:
RTPD is very proud of our community engagement and we would like to thank everyone for their support.
Those commenting on the post had a mixed view, some believe this was the start of a new chapter but others were sceptical about whether he would ever change.
Lisa Piontek, who claimed the criminal was one of her students, wrote:
Michael was one of my students. He had a heart of gold, a dry sense of humour and was extremely artistic.
I’m glad he turned himself in and now I hope he turns things around, makes better choices and gets his life back on track. I know he can do it.
James Calhoun followed this up with:
Dude turned himself in that is change. He kept his word. The word for that is ‘Integrity’.
I don’t condone any of his criminal history. People do a hell of a lot less than this guy within various aspects of life and those people are never accountable for their actions.
It is a right step in the right direction. Change doesn’t happen overnight or in a year even. Humans are creatures of habit. Habits which are hard to break. A single step in the right direction! Good for him.
But Annie Serylo-Duprey wasn’t so sure, writing:
Personally, I think he’s a joke. He’s a criminal playing the ‘catch me if you can’ game.
He has to put in the work if his life is going change. Don’t hold your breath.
Zaydel was sentenced to 39 days in jail after pleading guilty to breaking the terms of his probation.
