Luckily for the three teenagers who in December stole a replica of the Flintstones' car from outside World's Best Comics and Toys, owner Dave Downey doesn't have a heart of bedrock.
So when the apologetic thieves were caught just weeks later, and the 200-pound Flintmobile returned to the Sacramento, California, store, Downey declined to press charges, sparing them time in court and possibly even a criminal record. Instead, agreed to do some work at the store.
However, as CBS Sacramento now reveals, it's not menial labor, like sweeping up or emptying trash. No, it's a punishment straight out of the Stone Age: As part of their deal, the three teens will be on hand Saturday for Free Comic Book Day, dressed as Bedrock's most famous citizens.
"They’ll be wearing Flintstone garb. Right they will. Fred and Wilma and Barney,” Downey told the TV station with a laugh. "They’ll be out front in the street holding signs that say, ‘World Comic Book Day here at World’s Best Comics.'"
He's even billing the event on the store's website as "the final chapter in the great Flintmobile Heist."
In the retailer's mind, it's an instance of the punishment fitting the crime. "The legal system and the messiness of it, that’s not always necessary," Downey said. "And I think this was one of those times when it just wasn’t necessary."