Credit: DisneyA Florida man was arrested for stealing 50 Disney Trading Pins, valued at approximately $900, from a merchandise location in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort. The 27-year-old man’s family spoke to the media, calling his actions a “mistake.”
Stolen Disney Trading Pins
Authorities arrested the 27-year-old Florida resident on March 2 on suspicion of grand theft, a third-degree felony. The man was taken to jail, but according to WDWNT, the State Attorney’s Office has yet to file charges, so his identity remains anonymous at this time.
According to police documents, two eyewitnesses spotted the man stealing from the DisneyStyle store in the West Side neighborhood of the Disney Springs shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. A Disney cast member working at the store saw the guest put Disney Trading Pins in the front pocket of his shorts and alerted their manager, who called security.
Security cast members observed the man visit the bathroom in a nearby Starbucks before heading to another Disney-owned merchandise location, Star Wars Galactic Outpost. There, one security cast member observed him putting more Disney Trading Pins into his shorts pocket.
When Walt Disney World Resort security cast members and Orange County Sheriff’s Deputies confronted the 27-year-old man, they found 50 different trading pins inside his backpack and on his person. Authorities said he admitted to taking the items.
After tax, the Disney Trading Pins would have cost roughly $922, meeting the threshold for grand theft in the state of Florida. If found guilty, the man could face up to five years in prison, five years of probation, and up to $5,000 in fines.
The Family Speaks Out
The 27-year-old man’s mother spoke to WDWNT about her son’s arrest, claiming that he “is mentally unwell and made a mistake.”
Walt Disney World Resort has not commented publicly on the incident.
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