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 identify tag worn by workers of a Disney resort, the Swan Reserve, and eliminated an R2-D2 “Star Wars” droid as nicely as an unidentified sport machine, the authorities mentioned.
R2-D2 may 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 response to an arrest report dated May 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 Office wrote in the report.
Deputy Wrzesien wrote that Mr. Proudfoot had “temporarily moved” the droid from the third flooring of the lodge to an unknown location. As for the sport machine, Mr. Proudfoot informed deputies that he had no intention of shifting it off the property, in response to the report.
He informed investigators “he had an application for Walt Disney World Security pending and was moving the items to show weaknesses in the security of the resorts in 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 out there. Representatives of Walt Disney World and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office didn’t reply to requests for remark.
When the authorities first arrived at the Swan Reserve on May 31, they discovered Mr. Proudfoot disguised as an organization employee, Deputy Wrzesien wrote.
He initially gave investigators a false identify of David E. Rodgers, however nobody by that identify was employed by the corporate. Mr. Proudfoot additionally mentioned his supervisor’s identify was that of a Disney worker who labored in California, not Florida, in response to 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 point David took us up to a stairwell that leads to the management offices,” Deputy Wrzesien wrote. “When I questioned David where we were going, he said ‘Oh, I thought you wanted to speak to my manager to verify my employment.’”
Investigators confirmed Mr. Proudfoot’s actual identify 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, at the Four Seasons Resort, sheriff’s information present he was tied to the theft of about $735 value of lavatory merchandise from the boys’s locker room. The subsequent month, he was arrested after shopping for a gold necklace value greater than $700 by figuring out himself as a visitor underneath a special identify.
On May 16, Mr. Proudfoot was charged in reference to the theft of lavatory lighting fixtures and a towel cupboard from the health club at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. He additionally admitted to breaking into at least three arcade machines on Walt Disney World properties, the report mentioned.
