Larceny charges dropped against ‘Survivor’ contestant Jonny Fairplay in Pittsylvania County

‘We are disappointed that this ever was allowed to happen and relieved that it is over’

Jon Dalton aka Johnny Fairplay attends Wizard World Chicago Comic Con at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center on August 20, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images) (Daniel Boczarski, 2010 Daniel Boczarski)

PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. – Charges have been dropped against both “Survivor” alum Jonny Fairplay and his mother who were were arrested back in December.

The Clerk of Court for Pittsylvania County Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court confirmed to 10 News that the larceny charges against both Fairplay, whose real name is Jon Dalton, and his mother, Patsy Hall, were nolle prosequi, meaning they were dropped.

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10 News reached out to Fairplay and received the following statement:

On December 15, 2020, my mother and I were charged with grand larceny in Pittsylvania County Virginia. These warrants were issued based on the statements of a disgruntled family member. No investigation was done by law enforcement [Thursday] the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Pittsylvania County found there was insufficient evidence to proceed and nolle prossed/dismissed the charges. We are disappointed that this ever was allowed to happen and relieved that it is over. Love to Jean Cook… aka dead grandma.

Jonny Fairplay

The charges stemmed from a complaint about items stolen from a home in the Ferry Road area of Pittsylvania County.

The items reported stolen were three barstools valued at $900, an end table valued at $300 and a leather desk chair valued at $750, as well as a silver necklace valued at $5,000.

The criminal complaint named both Fairplay and Hall and the two themselves in once they found out they had arrest warrants out for them in Danville, according to authorities.

Fairplay is known for competing in CBS’s reality competition series, “Survivor: Pearl Islands,” back in 2003 for creating what host Jeff Probst called the “greatest lie ever told” on the show, EW reports.

During the part of the series where contestants visit their loved ones, Fairplay made a friend tell him his grandmother had died to garner sympathy from other competitors on the show. Immediately after, he revealed in a one-on-one interview that his grandmother, the same one mentioned in the arrest warrant, was actually alive and “sitting at home watching ‘Jerry Springer’ right now.”


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