Photos of Disney costumes and other props that were stolen from the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom were released Wednesday by authorities, according to WKMG.
What’s Happening:
- According to an arrest affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, a former Disney employee, 24-year old Patrick Spikes, was arrested in May on allegations of stealing and selling $7,000 worth of costumes from the Haunted Mansion.
- Spikes faces charges of burglary of an occupied structure, dealing in stolen property and grand theft, but has pleaded not guilty.
- The affidavit shows Disney said Spikes had photos on his phone of other animatronics that were stolen,
- with more photos showing merchandise that had been stolen from the Haunted Mansion. One series of photos shows a pink, two-piece costume, possibly taken from an audio animatronic character, labeled “A.A. Magic Kingdom Haunted Mansion” Other photos show a woman, identified as a friend of Spikes, wearing the costume. In another set of pictures, a Disney trash can is in the garage of a home and Disney ride manuals are in the trunk of a car.
- Sheriff's officials said Spikes used a Disney employee ID to get into Magic Kingdom on July 31, 2018. He was then caught taking a photo in the utility area, a restricted area for employees only, officials said.
- Throughout the photos, there are several pictures of the Employee ID showing the name “Jack D Marrow” even in a machine implying the ID was fake.
- In a video released by authorities, investigators confront Spikes about the photos with him saying "How about this? I'm about to walk out and if you guys want to talk, I'm going to come back with my attorney.” When a detective said they’re keeping his phone, Spikes grabs for the phone aggressively before the detectives tackle him. Allegedly, Spikes then asked if he can call his mother, with a detective asking “you’re an adult, correct?”
- According to the affidavit, investigators contacted a man who bought Haunted Mansion merchandise from Spikes, who claimed Spikes said he got the items with permission from Disney.
- For those following these stories closely, Spike was under investigation of a missing animatronic from Epcot (Most likely Buzzy from Cranium Command who went missing late last year) when it was discovered he had been stealing costume pieces from the Haunted Mansion, and was arrested in May.
- Just a few weeks ago, $20,000 worth of set pieces from Peter Pan’s Flight and Space Mountain went missing from a backstage storage facility at Epcot.
- You can watch the full report, which includes some of the interrogation video and incriminating photos below.
