Police arrested a Chuck E. Cheese mascot in Tallahassee, Florida, on Wednesday after a victim accused him of using her stolen credit card.
Officers handcuffed Mr. Cheese, escorted him from the restaurant, removed his headpiece, and revealed the alleged thief to be 41-year-old Jermel Jones, NBC News reported.
Jones was later hit with multiple felony charges: larceny, possession of another person’s identification without consent, and using the stolen debit card six times.
A video showing his arrest has since gone viral.
NOOOO THEY GOT CHUCK E. CHEESEpic.twitter.com/rJDDeVj9Co
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) July 24, 2025
The victim, Michelle Allen, had visited a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant for her child’s birthday on June 28.
Afterward, she noticed unrecognized charges on her debit card, which had gone missing.
The purchases included items at a smoke shop, a meat market, and a Whataburger, according to ABC News.
Allen started sniffing around, and after obtaining security footage from the meat market, she recognized an employee she had seen earlier at Chuck E. Cheese.
She called police, who met her outside the restaurant.
A Chuck E. Cheese employee in full costume was arrested for credit card fraud in Tallahassee, Florida. pic.twitter.com/l2zcQjjl5d
— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 24, 2025
Jones wasn’t in costume when officer Jarrett Cruz walked in to talk with him, and he was reportedly “very nervous,” police said.
After a brief chat, Cruz walked back outside, spoke with Allen and another officer, then walked back in.
When Cruz and the officer returned, Jones was in full costume.
“I grabbed his right arm while giving the verbal instruction, ‘Chuck E, come with me Chuck E,’” Cruz wrote in his report.
“Jones immediately started tensing up locking both of his arms forward in front of his chest and attempted to pull away from my grip on his right arm. I gave the verbal commands, ‘stop resisting, you are being detained,’” Cruz wrote.
Police found Allen’s debit card in Jones’ pant pocket, along with a receipt from the smoke shop; he said he had found the card and was about to return it to lost and found.
Jones went to Leon County Jail and was bailed out after his $6,500 bond was posted.
“We are aware of an incident involving a part-time employee arrested at our Tallahassee location on Wednesday,” a Chuck E. Cheese spokesman said in a statement on Friday, according to NBC News.
“We have taken the appropriate action concerning the subject employee,” the statement said.
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