As January was ending, two teenagers living on the outskirts of idyllic Pismo Beach – recently named “best small coastal town in America” by USA Today – took a long, overnight drive to Scottsdale.
Three and a half months later, Skylar LaPaille and Jackson Sullivan are stuck in the desert, awaiting trial for a brutal home invasion in which they allegedly demanded millions in bitcoin. Facing multiple felony charges, it could be decades before they feel the sand in their toes, ocean breeze in their faces – or unfettered freedom.
Their attorneys are fighting for at least modified versions of the carefree independence the pair once knew, asking the court to grant their returns to California…