Judge Takes Guy's Sneakers in Lieu of Bail

A Massachusetts man traded his shoes for his freedom last week after the judge gave him a chance to be "creative." Jason Duval, facing jail time for minor drug charges and driving to endanger, told the court that he was going through a divorce and didn't have any cash to post bail, reports MetroWest Daily News. "I'll give you a chance to be creative," the judge told him. "If you can come up with a creative idea to convince me that you'll come back, I'll work with you." When Duval offered the new Nike sneakers he got for Christmas, the judge said, "OK, we'll take them."

The charges against the 39-year-old would have been dismissed earlier if he had paid $450 in court fees, but he ended up before the judge after failing to send in the cash, reports Fox25. The judge told him that to get his shoes back, he will have to either pay $100 in weekly installments starting next week or do 10 hours of community service. (In Ohio just before Christmas, a teenager was shot dead after allegedly trying to steal somebody's new Air Jordans outside a mall.)