Latest news with #TempePoliceDepartment
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
TikToker facing charges after pranking workers at Chipotle, Pep Boys: police
A Phoenix area content creator is facing criminal charges after authorities say he went too far pranking multiple businesses over a four-month period. Heston Cobb, 21, known on social media as Heston James, was arrested on July 23 and charged with one count of third degree burglary, two counts of criminal impersonation, five counts of disorderly conduct and five counts of criminal trespassing, the Tempe Police Department announced in a press release. Police called the alleged crimes 'serious viral pranks that disrupted several local businesses.' What did the pranks entail? Between March and July, Cobb and a group of other men targeted businesses in Tempe, about 11 miles southeast of Phoenix, police said in the press release. The group went into stores such as Pep Boys, Jiffy Lube and Chipotle dressed as employees. Once inside, the men allegedly began disrupting businesses by entering employee-only areas. When they were asked to leave, they refused. Cobb, later identified as the leader of the group, told the others to start working, police said. The videos were uploaded to Cobb's social media pages. While his TikTok page has been deleted, he has an Instagram account with 1.2 million followers as of July 28, as well as a YouTube page with nearly 79,000 subscribers as of July 28. 'The videos garnered millions of views and potentially generated large amounts of money,' police said. Cobb recognized in previous videos In a compilation video titled "Top 5 Heston James moments," Cobb can be seen at a Target store pretending to be on the phone. "Go ahead and uh, bring the guys in," he said as a security worker tried to get him out of the store. In the next clip, a group of men dressed in red, as if they worked at Target, marched into the store, and Cobb directed them to "get to work." "Take over the lanes,' Cobb said. 'I need people at self-checkout." Another clip in the compilation shows a store employee telling Cobb he recognizes him. 'You look a lot like a guy who goes around recording videos of himself screaming in stores,' the employee said to Cobb, referencing another type of video Cobb had previously posted. In his other videos, he goes into stores yelling profanity. One clip he shared on his Instagram page on July 4 showed a group pulling up to a mechanic's shop in a white van and rushing inside. As of July 28, the video has over 1 million likes. 'Diligent police work' Police were able to connect the most recent retail pranks to each other once they began happening more often in Tempe, they said in their statement. 'Diligent police work connected 21-year-old Heston Cobb to the social media platforms as the leader of these pranks,' Tempe police added. Cobb captioned multiple videos "Bro pulled up with his own army of workers." Once viewers got wind of his arrest, they've been piling on comments. "Bro had a full page full of evidence," wrote one user on July 25. Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
NBC News
4 days ago
- NBC News
TikTok prankster Heston Cobb arrested in Arizona after viral stunts disrupted local businesses
An Arizona TikToker was arrested after a number of his viral pranks disrupted local businesses, officials said. The Tempe Police Department arrested Heston Cobb, 21, on Thursday after they linked him to social media accounts posting videos of the pranks and identified him as the leader of the group involved. Cobb was booked on one count of third degree burglary, two counts of criminal impersonation, five counts of disorderly conduct and five counts of criminal trespass. It was not immediately clear whether Cobb is in jail or whether he has legal representation. From March to July, businesses reported to police instances of a group of men who entered their stores dressed as employees, police said. They "began seriously disrupting their businesses by entering employee-only areas and refusing to leave when asked," the police statement said. According to police, one man was identified in these instances as the "leader" of the group and instructed the others to begin "working." Some of the viral videos show this in action. In one video, a man can be heard telling employees at Chipotle that he was called in to "clean house" because their portion sizes have been "lacking." He then makes a phone call to call in his troops, who then begin haphazardly "cleaning" the restaurant and attempting to enter the employees-only area behind the counter as the store's manager calls the police. Other stores in Tempe that were pranked include Pep Boys, Hyland Auto Repair, Big Brand Tire & Service and Jiffy Lube, police said. It was not clear if any of the other men were identified or arrested.
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Miami Herald
TikToker poses as employee at Arizona stores for videos, cops say. He's arrested
A 21-year-old TikToker with hundreds of millions of views pretended to work at stores in Arizona, police said. He's since been arrested on multiple charges. Heston Cobb is accused of disrupting multiple businesses in Tempe from March to July, the Tempe Police Department said in a July 24 news release. These businesses include Pep Boys, Hyland Auto Repair, Big Brand Tire & Service, Jiffy Lube and Chipotle, police said. McClatchy News could not immediately reach Cobb for comment on July 25. Cobb would go into places pretending to be employed there, then had a group of men come in 'dressed as employees,' police said. He would then tell the group to start 'working,' police said The prankster got it all on camera and uploaded the videos to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, where he goes by Heston James. Most of his videos have millions of views, and police said it's possible the videos 'generated large amounts of money.' Cobb was arrested July 23 at his home on multiple charges: One count of third-degree burglaryTwo counts of criminal impersonationFive counts of disorderly conductFive counts of criminal trespass Cobb has 1.6 million followers on TikTok. In a March 9 video, he is seen posing as an employee at a Target. The video has 29.4 million views. Tempe is in the Phoenix metro area.
New York Post
5 days ago
- New York Post
TikTokker with 1.6M followers busted for pranks disrupting businesses while making him big bucks online
A clout-chasing influencer is facing criminal charges for disrupting several Arizona businesses in pranks that likely made him big bucks online, according to authorities. Heston Cobb — known as 'Heston James' to his 1.6 million followers on TikTok — was arrested Wednesday at his home after months of disrupting local Tempe businesses during caught-on-camera staged pranks, the Tempe Police Department said in a statement. 3 Heston Cobb was arrested at his home Wednesday.. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Advertisement From March to July 2025, Cobb and a group of pranksters walked into businesses like Pep Boys, Big Brand Tire, Jiffy Lube, and Chipotle dressed as employees, storming into staff-only areas and playing out fake work scenes, cops said. 'These men began seriously disrupting their businesses by entering employee-only areas and refusing to leave when asked,' police said. 'The videos garnered millions of views and potentially generated large amounts of money.' Advertisement In one stunt, Cobb dressed as a mechanic and barged into Hyland Auto Repair, telling a real employee he was 'from corporate' before a van of pranksters pulled up to the business and began to crawl under customers' cars, according to the social media post with over 12 million views. 'These videos are definitely not pranks. They are crossing the line from something that's fun and playful into criminal territory. They're breaking laws,' Tempe Police Officer Jessica Ells told AZ Family. 'They are going into these businesses and impersonating the employees. That actually is a felony charge.' 3 In one stunt, Cobb dressed as a mechanic and barged into Hyland Auto Repair, telling a real employee he was 'from corporate' before a van of pranksters pulled up to the business. Instagram/teraclout Advertisement Another video captured Cobb and a fake cleaning crew entering a Chipotle and grabbing random supplies while claiming they were there to clean. Real workers at the establishment screamed for them to get out while on the phone with cops as Cobb yelled at his group to 'get to work,' according to the Instagram post. Cobb was charged with five counts of disorderly conduct, five counts of criminal trespass, two counts of criminal impersonation, and one count of burglary, records indicate. 3 More arrests and charges could be pending. Tempe Police Department Advertisement The investigation remains ongoing, and more arrests and charges could be pending, AZ family reported. The department issued a warning to influencers chasing clout. 'This is actually going to get you charges, so are you ready to face the fact that you could be going to jail for a prank just to get some views?' Ells said, according to the outlet..
NDTV
15-07-2025
- NDTV
Police Deliver Pizza After Arresting Delivery Agent In Arizona, US
The role of the police is to protect citizens and ensure that everyone follows the law, among several other responsibilities. However, considerate and kind police officers are often willing to go the extra mile for the comfort of the public. Recently, one such heartwarming incident was reported from Tempe, Arizona, in the United States. The Tempe Police Department shared a video from the incident on their official X handle, which has since gone viral. In the clip, two police officers are seen standing outside a residence, holding a large pizza box. They ring the doorbell, and a woman answers, looking surprised to find police at her doorstep. "How are you doing? Brandy?" one of the officers asks. "Yes," she responds, still puzzled. "So, your GrubHub (an American food delivery company) guy got arrested, so we still delivered your pizza," the officer explains. The customer appears stunned and unsure how to respond. The officer then adds lightheartedly, "It should still be warm." The woman smiles and thanks the officers for the pizza. In the caption of the video, the police department wrote, "When a delivery driver was arrested during a traffic stop, our officers made sure the pizza still got to the customer. The order was Hot-N-Ready, and the suspect was Caught-N-Steady. We're committed to serving our community 24/7-whether it's safety or pizza delivery!" When a delivery driver was arrested during a traffic stop, our officers made sure the pizza still got to the customer. The order was Hot-N-Ready, and the suspect was Caught-N-Steady. We're committed to serving our community 24/7—whether it's safety or pizza delivery! — Tempe Police Department (@TempePolice) July 12, 2025 Several viewers praised the police officers for their heartwarming gesture in the comments section: "I'm proud of our men in blue. Thank you for your service," an X user wrote. Another said, "What a surprise it would be to see these policemen at your door with pizza!" One viewer quipped, "But was it under 30 minutes?" Another commented, "Patrol Police Officers are such nice young guys. They come up with great ways to serve their communities."
