{"id":24047,"date":"2025-07-25T22:10:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T22:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/24047\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T22:10:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T22:10:11","slug":"chuck-e-cheese-mascot-arrested-in-full-costume-for-theft-in-florida-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/24047\/","title":{"rendered":"Chuck E. Cheese mascot arrested in full costume for theft in Florida – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not often you see a mascot get hauled away in handcuffs, but that\u2019s the exact scene that went down at a Florida Chuck E. Cheese<\/a> this week, as onlookers watched police restrain the restaurant\u2019s iconic anthropomorphic rodent.<\/p>\n

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On Wednesday, officers descended on a Tallahassee Chuck E. Cheese on reports of a stolen credit card, narrowing down the suspected thief to an employee who was inside the costume.<\/p>\n

Authorities believe Jermell Jones, who was dressed as the mouse when they arrived, stole a customer\u2019s bank card and used it to make fraudulent purchases.<\/p>\n

According to a police report, obtained by E! News, the owner of the bank card had used the card<\/a> during her daughter\u2019s birthday party at the location last month. When she noticed some fraudulent charges, she decided to take matters into her own hands.<\/p>\n

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The documents allege she visited one of the locations that showed up in her irregular bank statements and obtained surveillance footage of a man making one of the purchases. She \u201cimmediately recognized the suspect as an employee at Chuck E. Cheese,\u201d the documents say.<\/p>\n

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When police arrived at the children\u2019s pizza joint, Jones was handcuffed and escorted to a patrol car. He denied having anyone\u2019s bank cards and claimed he didn\u2019t know anything about the fraudulent purchases.<\/p>\n

Police later found a stolen bank card in their search, as well as a receipt allegedly matching one of the reported purchases.<\/p>\n

In total, investigators said the 41-year-old racked up US$105.57 in fraudulent charges.<\/p>\n

Photos and footage of the arrest have lit up the internet, with many questioning why police didn\u2019t have Jones remove the costume before he was placed under arrest.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOk, Tallahassee Police Department, y\u2019all couldn\u2019t let this man change out of his Chuck E. Cheese costume<\/a> before arresting him in front of those kids?\u201d one Facebook user wrote while sharing photos of the incident.<\/p>\n

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TPD spokesperson Alicia Hill told the Tallahassee Democrat that officers had hoped to lead Jones out of the restaurant without placing him in handcuffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Hill said. \u201cIt is unfortunate that the person who is subject of this investigation and who we had probable cause on happened to be \u2026 in costume.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones was charged with three felonies \u2014 theft of a credit card, criminal use of personal identification information and fraudulent use of a credit card over two times within six months, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.<\/p>\n

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