19-year-old faked his own kidnapping just to get out of work, police say

Arizona police say a 19-year-old man who claimed to have been kidnapped earlier this month went on to confess that he made the whole story up just to get out of work.

What are the details?

When police responded to calls on Feb. 10 and found Brandon Soules near a water tower in Coolidge, Arizona, he had both his hands bound behind his back as well as a belt and a bandana stuffed inside his mouth, the Casa Grande Dispatch reported.

During initial interviews with law enforcement, Soules alleged that he had been the victim of a kidnapping when two masked men struck him in the head outside his home, leaving him unconscious, and shoved him inside their vehicle. He proceeded to say that the kidnappers drove him around in the vehicle for some time before dropping him off at the location where he was discovered.

But after investigating the reported incident and Soules allegations, Coolidge police discovered that he had fabricated the story. Soules would eventually admit to his lies when confronted with the evidence, and on Feb. 17, was arrested and booked on the charge of false reporting to police.

Police updated the members of the community in a media release to let them know that "no kidnapping or assault occurred" and, consequently, that they didn't need to worry about two masked criminals at large in the area. Police added that Soules "admitted during an interview that he made up the story as an excuse to get out of work."

How did they find out?

In an interview with KNXV-TV, an unidentified officer recalled how Soules claimed that he had been abducted by the offenders in front of his home the morning of Feb. 10, but surveillance footage from the street at that time never showed any such incident occurring.

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Detectives also reported that Soules alleged the kidnapping was spurred on by a large sum of money his father had hidden somewhere in the community. That also proved to be false. But once he had concocted the scheme, he went on to stage the scene.

"He informed us that he at first stuffed a bandana in his mouth, and afterwards, he took off his own belt and bound his hands," the officer told the news outlet. "[Then] he laid on the ground and scooted out near the side of the road where somebody could see him."

What else?

The question on everyone's mind: What job did this guy have that he went to such great lengths to avoid having to show up for work? Well, Soules was reportedly employed at The Tire Factory, an automotive shop in the area.

And in a way, his plan worked, since he no longer will need to report to work at The Tire Factory. The company decided to let him go after news broke about his arrest.