TALLAHASSEE, Fla.–With kids and families looking on, Chuck E. Cheese was arrested by the Tallahassee Police Department on charges related to a stolen credit card.
Not surprisingly, the arrest went viral on social media, which showed pictures and videos of police leading a man in a Chuck E. Cheese costume out the front door and to a waiting police car, on top of which his mascot head was placed after being removed by officers.
Inside the costume was Jermell Jones, who was arrested on three felonies.
Police spokesperson Ary Gaplairisez told the Tallahassee Democrat that police were called to the parking lot of the Chuck E. Cheese after a caller reported a stolen credit card. The victim met officers outside and said that they had a party at the pizza joint in June.
Activity is Traced
“Afterward she noticed about $100 of fraudulent charges on her card from places she didn’t shop at or hadn’t been to,” the report stated. “She was able to trace the activity to an employee at the restaurant at 2810 Sharer Road. Police initially identified the suspect as an employee who was checking stamps at the front door. But when they returned to make an arrest, they were advised by another employee that the suspect was now dressed as Chuck E. Cheese.”
‘Come With Me, Chuck E’
“They walked over with the intention of just walking outside to put handcuffs on him outside of public view,” Gaplairisez told the Democrat.
According to police reports, one officer while grabbing the employee even referred to him as the character himself, “Chuck E, come with me Chuck E,” the Democrat further reported.
“But when they approached him, he immediately tenses up and resists, and so at this point they make the decision to put him in handcuffs, keeping in mind the safety of not only the customers, but the suspect, as well as the officers themselves,” Gaplairisez told the publication. “It is unfortunate that the person who is subject of this investigation and who we had probable cause on happened to be in a suit and in costume.”
Mouse in the Big House
Police allegedly found the stolen credit card in the possession of Mr. Cheese/Jones, who was not let go in the wild but instead booked at Leon County Jail before being released on bond.
