First Date Becomes Trip to Jail for 'Dine and Dash' Couple
South Florida couple goes to jail after skipping out on dinner bill: Report
Indian River County Sheriff's Office
Devin Norling and Sydney Sanders.
A first date for a young South Florida couple turned into a trip to jail after police say the pair dined and dashed at a T.G.I. Friday's.
Devin Norling, 18, and Sydney Sanders, 19, were arrested near the Indian River Mall in Vero Beach after they skipped out on a $25.16 bill at the restaurant on Oct. 5, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by TCPalm.com.
According to the affidavit, Norling and Sanders had been eating on the restaurant's patio and when they finished, the manager saw Sanders walking toward a nearby Macy's.
The manager told police Norling asked where the bathroom was, then tried leaving through a fire exit in a back room when the alarm sounded, the affidavit said.
The manager told Norling to go back to the patio, where a waitress gave him the bill. Norling was "opening up his wallet and taking out nothing and putting the wallet back inside of his pocket," the manager told police.
Norling eventually hopped over the patio gate and was spotted running through the parking lot with Sanders, the affidavit said.
The pair was taken into custody, and police found a pipe with marijuana residue in Sanders' purse.
The manager said Sanders had told him it was the couple's first date, the affidavit said.
Police said Norling admitted to ordering the food and leaving without paying, and said he was "basically homeless and had nothing to eat for a couple a days," the affidavit said.
Norling and Sanders were both charged with obtaining goods with intent to defraud and Sanders was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. They were later released from the Indian River County jail.
