The brother of two bail bondsmen who were murdered several months ago, got a very special Christmas surprise Monday morning. A Bakersfield man delivered a $700 watch to the teen who has been through so much.
In April, Vincent Sims lost both his brothers in a shooting. A few days later, his grandmother died.
Now, a stranger hopes to brighten his holiday with the gift of time.
"This is it," said Adam Gomez as he handed the Invicta watch to Vincent Sims.
"I never actually owned a watch myself," said Sims.
The watch was donated by a stranger in Florida to Adam Gomez as part of his "Everyone Deserves a Watch" campaign, that Gomez started three months ago. Each month, Gomez reads through nomination submissions and chooses a deserving person to receive a watch.
On this Christmas Eve, Gomez delivered it to a Vincent Sims.
"I am so thankful for it and it is just such an honor being able to have the watch, and I thank Mr. Gomez for it," said Sims.
"It's not nearly about someone being able to afford a watch or not, it's just about the story," said Gomez.
Sims' story is one of tragedy. His two brothers, Brandon and Zachary Sims, both bail bondsmen, were shot and killed while doing their job. Around that same time Sims also lost his grandmother.
"Pretty tough, especially around the holidays. It's pretty tough, you know, putting up the Christmas decorations," said Sims.
Family friend Cynthia Munoz nominated Sims.
"Through it all, through everything, I seen that he was really strong," said Munoz.
Although she knows a watch couldn't bring Sims' brothers back, she hoped this would help him smile.
"I am just hoping it brought him a little bit of happiness at the end of the year to show him that good things are to come," said Munoz.
As Sims tries on the watch, he thinks of what his brothers might say.
"They'd probably joke around with me about it, but they would think it was really cool," said Sims.
Gomez is already thinking about the next watch he'll give to a deserving person like Sims.
"Everybody gets that spirit of giving during the holidays, but if we can keep that spirit all year long and do it all the time, it would help the world be a much better place," said Gomez.
If you know of someone deserving of a watch you can submit their story at www.everyonedeservesawatch.com.