A judge dismissed kidnapping and robbery charges against Vickson and Lorpu Korlewala on September 19th.
In April, Southwest Detectives accused the owners of Lela's Braiding Gallery, located at 55th and Market streets, of forcing an 80-year-old woman into their car on the same block as their home and business. Investigators say they drove the victim to a Citizens Bank branch and made her withdraw $8,000 from her account.
"We spent three weeks in jail and that was just like hell for us. It turned our life around," said Vickson Korlewala.
Action News was there in April when police hauled the 58-year-old man off to jail. He maintained his innocence. A comparison of a surveillance image of the suspect in the case and Korlewala sparked questions, but police said they had the right man.
"I know the police officer showed me the image and I just laughed," said Vickson. "I said that picture does not look like me."
"It's clear they are not the same person," said defense attorney Thomas Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick says the judge dismissed the charges because prosecutors could not get their case together.
The Korlewalas have no criminal history and they moved to the US nearly 30 years ago from Liberia.
"We believe in hard work," said 52-year-old Lorpu Korlewala. "We believe in working to live if you want to live a good life."
The couple's $1-million bail was reduced to $500,000. Fitzpatrick says Korlewalas' local Liberian community started a Facebook page and collected the $50,000 to get them out of jail.
"There has been a great deal of damage done at this point beyond their community, to their businesses and to their reputations," said Fitzpatrick.
The Philadelphia Police Department referred Action News to the District Attorney's Office. A spokeswoman would only say the office "is reviewing the judge's decision on this case and we are considering what our next course of action will be with these defendants."
While the Korlewalas wait to learn if prosecutors will re-file charges and re-arrest them, they continue to support Liberia.
Vickson Korlewala, an environmental chemist also owns Transatlantic Eco Power, a company dedicated to bringing renewable energy to Liberia. Now he's providing Ebola relief with a Facebook campaign called "Operation Crush Ebola."
"The Ebola crisis back home is giving us an opportunity to bring back the community. We need to get back to our country. We need to make sure we lead some developmental efforts," said Vickson Korlewala.
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office still has their passports but the Korlewalas plan to travel to Liberia once there's a handle on the Ebola crisis. They say the real thief of the crime they did not commit is still out there and they're praying for the elderly victim.