A Florida man who mentioned he utilized for a safety job at Walt Disney World in Florida wished to impress his would-be bosses.
So, to focus on what he mentioned was the corporate’s lax oversight, the person, David Proudfoot, donned the grey T-shirt, beige pants and Disney title tag worn by staff of a Disney resort, the Swan Reserve, and eliminated an R2-D2 “Star Wars” droid in addition to an unidentified recreation machine, the authorities mentioned.
R2-D2 might need been the droid he was searching for, however Mr. Proudfoot’s check of Disney’s safety backfired: He was charged with grand theft and obstruction by false info, in line with an arrest report dated Might 31.
Mr. Proudfoot, 44, of Kissimmee, Fla., admitted to investigators that he moved the droid, which was valued as much as $10,000, and the sport machine, Deputy Christopher Wrzesien of the Orange County Sheriff’s Workplace wrote within the report.
Deputy Wrzesien wrote that Mr. Proudfoot had “quickly moved” the droid from the third flooring of the lodge to an unknown location. As for the sport machine, Mr. Proudfoot instructed deputies that he had no intention of shifting it off the property, in line with the report.
He instructed investigators “he had an software for Walt Disney World Safety pending and was shifting the gadgets to point out weaknesses within the safety of the resorts within the hope of securing a better-paying job at WDW,” the report mentioned.
Mr. Proudfoot couldn’t be reached for touch upon Saturday and a lawyer for him was not instantly obtainable. Representatives of Walt Disney World and the Orange County Sheriff’s Workplace didn’t reply to requests for remark.
When the authorities first arrived on the Swan Reserve on Might 31, they discovered Mr. Proudfoot disguised as an organization employee, Deputy Wrzesien wrote.
He initially gave investigators a false title of David E. Rodgers, however nobody by that title was employed by the corporate. Mr. Proudfoot additionally mentioned his supervisor’s title was that of a Disney worker who labored in California, not Florida, in line with the report.
Deputy Wrzesien accompanied Mr. Proudfoot to retrieve gadgets from a locker, and Mr. Proudfoot took a route that appeared inconsistent with worker procedures, the report mentioned.
“At one level David took us as much as a stairwell that results in the administration places of work,” Deputy Wrzesien wrote. “After I questioned David the place we had been going, he mentioned ‘Oh, I believed you wished to talk to my supervisor to confirm my employment.’”
Investigators confirmed Mr. Proudfoot’s actual title with a Florida driver’s license he had in his possession, the report mentioned.
Mr. Proudfoot has been linked to different thefts at Disney-owned properties main as much as the R2-D2 case.
In January, on the 4 Seasons Resort, sheriff’s information present he was tied to the theft of about $735 value of toilet merchandise from the boys’s locker room. The following month, he was arrested after shopping for a gold necklace value greater than $700 by figuring out himself as a visitor beneath a unique title.
On Might 16, Mr. Proudfoot was charged in reference to the theft of toilet lighting fixtures and a towel cupboard from the gymnasium at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. He additionally admitted to breaking into at the least three arcade machines on Walt Disney World properties, the report mentioned.
