Man posed as a Disney worker to nab ‘Star Wars’ R2-D2 replica worth thousands, cops say
A man posing as a Walt Disney World hotel worker stole a replica of the “Star Wars” character R2-D2 worth between $6,000 and $10,000, a Florida sheriff’s office said.
Deputies responded to Walt Disney World’s Swan Reserve hotel in Lake Buena Vista on May 31 after hotel management reported a theft, according to an arrest affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Security officers told deputies that there was a suspicious man on the property wearing an orange work vest and pushing a cart who seemed confused about work procedures at the hotel, the affidavit says.
Deputies approached the man, who initially told them his name was David Rogers and that he worked for Disney, but security officers on scene said they had no record of anyone by that name working for them, according to the affidavit.
A deputy brought the man, who was later identified as David Proudfoot, 44, to retrieve his things from an employee locker, but Proudfoot had difficulty leading deputies to the locker room, and when he found it, could not open any of the lockers.
Proudfoot eventually told deputies that he did not work for Disney, according to the arrest affidavit. He also said he had moved items onto the Swan Reserve property, including an R2-D2 replica and a game machine to an “unknown location” on the property, the affidavit says.
He told authorities that he had a pending application for Walt Disney World security and that he had moved the items to “show weaknesses” in the property’s security system. He said he hoped that by doing this he would get a better-paying job with the company.
Court records list Proudfoot as being represented by a public defender. A message left with the Orange County Public Defender’s office was not returned.
Walt Disney World did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on July 1.
Investigators have also accused Proudfoot of other thefts at Disney properties, including multiple light fixtures and a wooden towel cabinet worth a total of about $6,500 from a health club inside Disney’s Fort Wilderness Lodge, according to another arrest affidavit.
He’s facing charges of third-degree felony theft and obstruction by false information, the affidavits state.
Proudfoot is being held at the Orange County Jail in Orlando.
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