ORLANDO, Fla. – A Baltimore man was arrested last month after dressing like a Disney cast member and moving a statue replica of the R2-D2 droid from the Star Wars franchise, according to arrest records from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Security reportedly called the sheriff’s office after a security guard noticed Proudfoot’s “suspicious” behavior in pushing a cart across the street onto Swan Reserve property.
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Deputies said Proudfoot identified himself as “David E. Rodgers,” though there was no record of a person with that name found. Reports show Proudfoot was wearing a Walt Disney World-issued name tag inscribed with the name “David.”
Records indicate Proudfoot gave deputies information about his supposed job with the company, though Walt Disney Security found no record of his employment.
After several attempts to persuade deputies that he was employed by the company, deputies eventually found details of Proudfoot’s personal information in his wallet, according to the affidavit.
Deputies said Proudfoot then admitted to taking a replica statue of R2-D2 and an arcade game machine and moving them to “an unknown location” on the Swan Reserve with no intention of taking them off the property. Records show the R2-D2 statue was worth between $6000 and $10,000.
Investigators said Proudfoot moved the items to show weaknesses in Disney’s current security system. Proudfoot had previously applied to work in security at Disney.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Proudfoot had previously been charged with stealing about $15,000 from a Baltimore County school system during his time as an elementary school principal.
Proudfoot’s social media shows he worked for Seminole County Public Schools as an assistant principal in Sanford from 2004 to 2006.
Following the incident, Proudfoot faced charges for third-degree grand theft, petit theft, obstruction by false information and scheming to defraud.
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