Chris Jones is advocating for the release of an Illinois woman currently imprisoned for her involvement in a $1.5 million chicken theft from a school district, and he’s offering to personally cover the loss.
On Tuesday, Jones, a defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs, expressed this intention in a post on X. The case involves 68-year-old Vera Liddell, a former food service director for Harvey School District 152, who recently pleaded guilty earlier this month.
As previously reported, Liddell was accused of ordering over 11,000 cases of chicken wings, valued at approximately $1.5 million, while employed by the school system. The food was intended for students attending remote classes from 2020 to early 2022.
"I'll pay for the wings that she stole to get her free," Jones wrote on X.
To be clear, such an offer will have no bearing on Liddell's sentence. It's also unclear whether Jones is making a serious effort to secure her release or if his comment was more lighthearted.
Regardless, a rep for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed in a statement to Complex that Liddell pleaded guilty to theft this past Friday was sentenced to nine years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.