They were and still are serious about Ricci. They wouldn't have thrown him in jail and kept him there for drinking beer on parole if they weren't serious. If he would have cleared himself by admitting he had the Jeep, explained where he got it muddy on Jun 8, and told them what he did with the stuff he took out of it and who picked him up at Mouls, they would have let him out that night.
I wouldn't be surprised if Ed is going to America's Most Wanted just to keep the story alive.
And wait one fine minute, Sherl. You're skewing things a bit in saying, They wouldn't have thrown him in jail and kept him there for drinking beer on parole." They would have let him out if he had told him where the Jeep was.
No, no, no, no, no. Aren't you forgetting the bank robbery?
Can't have it both ways, Sherl. Drinking beer was the ruse for an arrest. LE needed someone in custody that the Smarts knew. If they didn't nab someone "logical", they would have had to come up with the 911 phone call tape and a composite drawing.