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Former Disney World Employee Allegedly Stole Over $14K in Items From Theme Parks: Police

What to Know

  • The 24-year-old faces charges that include burglary, grand theft and dealing in stolen property according to NBC affiliate WBBH-TV.

A former employee at Walt Disney World found himself going from the “happiest place on Earth” to a jail cell after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in items from various parks.

Patrick Spikes was taken into custody and charged with stealing over $14,000 worth of items from backrooms at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot.

The 24-year-old faces charges that include burglary, grand theft and dealing in stolen property according to NBC affiliate WBBH-TV.

The Orange County Sheriff's office said it began investigating Spikes when he posted a picture on Twitter of a retired animatronic character wearing its clothes two months after the robot's garments were reported stolen. Spikes had created a social media platform to post Disney backstage content for movie and theme parks aficionados.

The stolen items belonged to "Buzzy," a character from the now-closed "Wonders of Life" attraction at Epcot, investigators said. The estimated value of the items is more than $6,800. The entire animatronic was later stolen, according to Friday's arrest warrant.

Detectives said a search warrant for Spikes' cellphone turned up photos of stolen Disney wigs, skirts and jackets. Spikes used underground tunnels to get to Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion, where costumes were stolen, the arrest warrant says.

Financial records showed that Spikes received about $30,000 via PayPal from two buyers, investigators said. One of the buyers told detectives he had paid Spikes about $8,900 for 18 items that were later confirmed by the company to have also been stolen. The buyer turned over the stolen goods, which he said he thought had been legally obtained. One of those costumes is listed in the arrest warrant.

Detectives are still investigating and trying to track down the rest of the items that have been documented as stolen.

Jail records didn't list an attorney for Spikes.

In an email, Disney said the case was a "law enforcement matter."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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