Man in mouse costume sentenced for theft after being cuffed in entrance of crying children
The mascot of the much-loved American kids restaurant was infamously arrested in full view of customers left stunned at what was going on — and now, the man in the suit has been sentenced
Chuck E Cheese’s arrest left several kids crying as he was escorted away
A man who was arrested in a Chuck E Cheese outfit, a mouse costume, in front of bewildered punters has been sentenced. He was able to narrowly avoid jail, but was ordered to pay out over $1,600 (£1,160) in costs to the court.
Jermell Jones, 42, was infamously arrested in front stunned children back in July, forced to be handcuffed while still in the costume. It had been alleged that he had stolen a debit card from a female customer and had used it to buy various items and food.
Now, Jones has managed to avoid going to prison, despite the potential to have been put away for a maximum of 10 years, based on Florida’s laws.
He was also ordered to stay away from the victim, and the establishment where he used to work. According to The Smoking Gun, Jones pleaded guilty to two felonies in connection with the theft of the Visa card from a customer back in July.
The victim had told police that she had been a regular at the Talahassee-based restaurant where Jones had been working. She further revealed that her card had mysteriously disappeared after her kid had a birthday party there.
According to prosecutors, Jones then used the stolen card to buy groceries, smoking equipment, fuel and even food at lavish restaurants. Officers, however, soon tracked Jones down and eventually arrested him, as bodycam footage showed him being held against a car being cuffed.
After he was arrested, Jones had alleged that if he had found a credit card belonging to a customer at the restaurant, he “would have turned it in to Chuck E. Cheese and not kept it”. But a search of Jones’ person revealed the missing card and a receipt of the card’s use to buy an unknown item.
Jones had apparently also racked up a number of previous convictions throughout his life. These included theft, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, trespassing and resisting arrest.
Appearing before a Florida court on Monday (January 26), Jones pleaded guilty to the two felony charges made against him, as well as one misdemeanour. This was done as part of a plea deal with prosecutors to save Jones from going to prison.
While he was able to strike a plea bargain, had he been unable to do so he could have faced up a maximum of 10 years behind bars. But he was able to avoid jail and was ordered to pay out $1,600 to the court in costs and administration fees.
On top of the financial burden that Jones would be hit by, he would be given three years probation, meaning he would have to report to an officer each week and avoid reoffending. He was also told not to contact the victim in any way, and was ordered never to go back to the old Chuck E Cheese that he had been hired by.
The case against Jones was pushed for by the victim, who — after visiting the restaurant in July — demanded to see the premises’ CCTV footage of the day the robbery had taken place. After being allowed to see the footage, she said that she “immediately recognized the suspect as an employee at Chuck E. Cheese”.
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