Why was a Chuck E Cheese mascot arrested at a Tallahassee outlet? Details explored as police bodycam footage goes viral

A bodycam video of a man in a Chuck E Cheese costume is going viral on social media. The one-minute-long clip is from an 11-minute-long footage which was captured on July 23, 2025.

Two police officers entered a Chuck E Cheese outlet in Tallahassee, Florida, on that day, to arrest Jermel Jones. Jones was on his shift and was attending a child's birthday party in his mascot costume.

As one officer handcuffed the 41-year-old, the other officer told an employee that Jones reportedly stole another employee's or a customer's credit card and made purchases worth $100. Police officer Jarrett Cruz told Jones not to "cause a scene" as he arrested him.

"Chuck E. stop resisting, stop resisting. You're being detained. Stop resisting. Let it go, let it go. Do not cause a scene here, sir," police officer Jarrett Cruz stated.

The officers then took Jermel Jones to the police car. As they were leaving the restaurant, the parents and kids protested, asking where they were taking Chuck E Cheese.

One woman even asked the police officer if they would arrest Micky Mouse like that in front of kids.

Body cam footage of the arrest of Chuck E. Cheese just dropped LMAO 🍕 🐭 ⛓️‍💥 pic.twitter.com/ZWQX6afk5t

— South Dallas Foodie (@SouthDallasFood) August 31, 2025

More details on the Chuck E Cheese mascot arrested at a Tallahassee outlet

After the police officers took Jermel Jones to the police vehicle, they helped him remove his mouse costume. As Jermel Jones asked why he was being arrested, officer Jarrett Cruz asked him if he had stolen anyone's credit card or found it by accident.

Cruz also asked if he had made any fraudulent purchases with the card.

Jones denied every accusation, and then the police officer asked him if he had gone to Whataburger, Cloud Smoke Shop, and the meat market called Don's Grocery & Meats at 720 W Orange Avenue, Tallahassee, saying that they had CCTV footage of him entering the shops and purchasing items with the credit card.

Jermel Jones at first denied being at those places. After he was shown the CCTV footage, he accepted that he had made purchases in the shops.

However, the Chuck E Cheese employee insisted that he bought items with his own credit card and not a stolen one.

"I don't wanna go to jail today," Jermel Jones kept saying.

As the officers kept asking him questions, Jones stated that he did not do anything, and he was always supposedly busy with his work.

"I might have been in that store you saw, but not using what y'all think," Jones said.

A spokesperson from CEC Entertainment, Chuck E Cheese's parent company, told Tallahassee Democrat on July 24, 2025, that they heard about the incident and have taken "appropriate action" against Jones.

"We are aware of an incident involving a part-time employee arrested at our Tallahassee location on Wednesday, July 23. We have taken the appropriate action concerning the subject employee," they stated.

Jermel Jones was charged with credit card theft and fraud charges. He was kept at the Leon County Jail, Tallahassee, Florida.

According to WCTV's September 3, 2025, report, the Chuck E Cheese employee was bonded out of jail and is currently awaiting court appearance.

Stay tuned for more updates regarding the Chuck E Cheese case.