Patrick Spikes

Patrick Allen Spikes (born August 30, 1994)[1] is an American former Walt Disney World employee. Spikes received media attention after he was arrested for stealing over $14,000 worth in Disney World cast member costumes and props.[2]

Patrick Spikes
Spikes' 2019 mugshot
Born
Patrick Allen Spikes

(1994-08-30) August 30, 1994
EducationFull Sail University
Criminal chargeBurglary
Fencing
Grand theft
Penalty10 years probation

Background

Spikes is a native of Florida. He studied entertainment at Full Sail University. Spikes ran social media accounts on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube under the name "BackdoorDisney," where he posted behind the scenes photos and videos backstage during his employment at Walt Disney World. At the time of his arrest, he resided in Winter Garden, Florida.[3]

Theft and arrest

On July 31, 2018, Spikes, along with his cousin Blaytin Taunton, snuck into backstage areas at the Magic Kingdom theme park using the employee only utilidor system. While Spikes was a park employee at the time, Taunton was not. This prompted Spikes to create a fake ID for Taunton under the name "Jack D. Marrow" so he could access the utilidor system.[4] They later entered a restricted area of the Haunted Mansion attraction and stole over $7,000 in props and clothing.[5]

In December 2018, Spikes was brought into the Orange County Sheriff's Office for questioning regarding a stolen animatronic.[6] 4 months prior, Disney reported that an animatronic named "Buzzy" was stolen from the Cranium Command attraction at Epcot. Authorities received information that Spikes had texted photos of Buzzy's clothing to another Disney employee and intended to obtain a search warrant for Spikes' cell phone.[7] After Spikes was told that he would have to leave his phone with the sheriff's office so they can investigate, he grabbed his phone and attempted to leave the interview room. Video from the interview shows Spikes being wrestled to the ground by police.[8] He was charged with resisting an officer without violence. The charges were later dismissed.[3]

On May 17, 2019, Spikes was arrested by Orange County Sheriff's Office after investigators connected Spikes to the Haunted Mansion costumes he had stolen almost a year prior. He faced burglary, fencing, and grand theft charges.[9] Spikes' court case revealed that he had sold stolen memorabilia online, receiving over $30,000 from two customers via PayPal.[10][11] One of his customers included NBA player Robin Lopez. Lopez, an avid Disney fan, unknowingly bought over $10,000 in stolen memorabilia from Spikes, including clothing from the missing "Buzzy" animatronic.[12]

On February 4, 2020, Spikes and Taunton accepted plea deals, avoiding jail time. Both men were ordered to pay over $25,000 in restitution, $6,700 to Disney, $10,700 to Robin Lopez, and $7,900 to an unnamed customer from Winter Park.[13] Spikes received 10 years probation and 250 hours of community service while Taunton received five years probation and 125 hours of community service.[14] Both men were also ordered not to return to Disney property.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Patrick Spikes Arrest Warrant" (PDF). State of Florida - County of Orange. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  2. "Former Disney World Employee Allegedly Stole Over $14K in Items From Theme Parks: Police". NBC 6 - South Florida. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  3. Cleary, Tom. "Patrick Spikes: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  4. Russon, Gabrielle. "At Disney World, felony theft charges filed in a strange case involving park collectibles". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  5. "Former Disney employee given probation, community service for stealing thousands of dollars in props". Fox35 Orlando. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  6. "Former Disney World employee accused in theft of costumes from Haunted Mansion". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  7. Weill, Kelly. "Accused Thief Taunted Disney World With Photo of Stolen Robot's Mutilated Head". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  8. "Man accused of stealing costumes from Disney World fights police on video". Fox 8 - Greensboro. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  9. Harris, David. "Former employee arrested for stealing $14K in Disney costumes from Magic Kingdom, Epcot, deputies say". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  10. Brown, Lee. "Disney World employee busted after posting photos of stolen memorabilia online". New York Post. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  11. Tutten, James. "Men charged with stealing costumes, props from Disney theme parks accept plea deal in court". WFTV 9 - Orlando. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  12. Russon, Gabrielle. "After infamous Disney World theft case, 'I've learned my lesson,' Patrick Spikes says". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  13. "Man says 'I'm going to Disney' after avoiding jail in Magic Kingdom theft case". WESH 2 - Orlando. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  14. Nuñez, Gabriella. "Florida men enter plea deal in Disney theft case". Click Orlando. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  15. Carter, Ashley. "Man Accused in Disney World Costume Theft Takes Plea Deal". Spectrum News 13 - Orlando. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.