Chuck E. Cheese employee arrested in iconic mouse mask for using stolen
credit card, police say
[July 26, 2025]
TALLAHASSEE (AP) — Wearing the furry mask of the iconic Chuck E.
Cheese mascot mouse, an employee of the popular children's birthday
destination was arrested for using a stolen credit card at one of the
chain's Florida restaurants, police said.
“Chuck E, come with me Chuck E,” a police officer in Tallahassee told
the suspect, “stop resisting, you are being detained.”
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A Chuck E. Cheese restaurant is shown in San Bruno, Calif., June 25,
2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) |
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The arrest occurred Wednesday, according to the probable cause
report from police, while photos from bystanders showed an
officer removing the man's rodent mask — with its gray fur,
exaggerated ears and perpetual smile — and placing it atop a
Tallahassee Police Department vehicle.
The investigation began when a woman called police to report
that someone was using her child support Visa debit card, which
she hadn't seen since a visit Chuck E. Cheese in late June,
police records stated. Charges to the card were made at a smoke
shop, grocery store and a Whataburger.
The woman tracked down the suspect by going to the grocery store
and viewing surveillance footage from the time her card was
used, police records state. She recognized the man from the
Chuck E. Cheese.
When police officers arrived at the restaurant, one of them
entered first to verify that the suspect was there. He was — and
he wasn't wearing the mask. The suspect “looked very nervous, he
gazed at me with wide eyes and squared shoulders in a tensed
demeaner,” a police officer later wrote in the probable cause
report.
The officer and another officer soon returned to the Chuck E.
Cheese, where the suspect had since donned the rodent mask,
police records stated. The officers asked another employee if
the suspect was in the mouse suit.
“She shook her head up and down indicating yes,” the officer
wrote.
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