It’s safe to say that as far as dates arranged through Facebook go, most pass by without major incident.
The same can not be said of the encounter between Leah Gibbs and Adam Minton. Gibbs, 23, met Minton through the popular social networking site and the pair appeared to get on so well that they decided to meet. According to a Daily Mail report, the plan had been for Gibbs to spend the evening watching a DVD at Minton’s home in south Wales.
But when Gibbs arrived at Minton’s home, he told her he needed to pop round to a friend’s place. He asked if she could drive him. Gibbs, no doubt wanting to make a good impression, obliged.
Minton directed Gibbs to some nearby shops, where he told her to wait for him. A few minutes later, she saw Minton running back to her car. When he jumped inside, he shouted: “Go, go, go!”
It can be said with a fair degree of certainty that such words are rarely spoken following a meeting with a friend. They’re far more likely to be uttered in moments of great stress, when one needs to leave a location in a hurry – like when you’ve just robbed a shop at knifepoint, for example.
According to Gibbs, Minton was a different man following his “meeting with a friend.” As they drove back to his home, Minton’s rudeness was enough to convince the disappointed 23-year-old that the date was over.
As Minton tried to persuade her to come into his house, the police turned up. It was then that Gibbs got the shock of her life. They accused Minton of robbing a shop at knifepoint and Gibbs of being his accomplice.
She told the Daily Mail: “I thought I would be ending the night in Adam’s arms. Instead, he had landed in the long arms of the law and I was facing jail.”
She spent a night in police custody before investigators finally believed her story that it was merely a Facebook date gone wrong and that she had nothing to do with the crime.
Minton has been jailed for four-and-a-half years for the robbery. It’s likely that should Gibbs ever arrange another date through Facebook, she’ll be leaving her car at home.
[Image courtesy of Blazej Lyjak/Shutterstock]
