Man Accused of Stealing Buzzy's Clothing from Disney World Arrested

[kpilcher]

Who has seen proof, since May, that there is a case open? A blog that's not too big said that they talked to someone from OPD (unsourced and without any evidence to prove they actually talked to the OPD). There wasn't proof there is an investigation ongoing.
I know people who have seen Buzzy. I know that's also not proof but I trust those people. I understand if you don't trust me and I don't hold it against you.
But Buzzy is safe in WDI's hands.

OPD would play no role here. I hope Buzzy is safe. Always have. But I promise OCSO didn't claim to know that earlier this month.

 

[larryz]

OPD would play no role here. I hope Buzzy is safe. Always have. But I promise OCSO didn't claim to know that earlier this month.

Police officers can only include in their reports what they've been told, what they hear, and what they see first hand. Not everything they report is correct, and that doesn't mean they're lying.

 

[kpilcher]

Police officers can only include in their reports what they've been told, what they hear, and what they see first hand. Not everything they report is correct, and that doesn't mean they're lying.

We work with law enforcement constantly, though I don't work as directly as I used to. I wasn't accusing anyone of lying. Sometimes they do purposely withhold information if it helps the investigation, but if a case is closed they will say that, and by Florida's open records act, a lot of the investigation becomes public record pretty quickly.

 

[larryz]

We work with law enforcement constantly, though I don't work as directly as I used to. I wasn't accusing anyone of lying. Sometimes they do purposely withhold information if it helps the investigation, but if a case is closed they will say that, and by Florida's open records act, a lot of the investigation becomes public record pretty quickly.

I understand the need to keep source identities confidential, and didn't mean to imply you said they were lying. But some people are saying that the OCSO reports are gospel truth and that we should blindly accept an unattributed statement as fact.

 

[OrlandoRising]

I see I have to once again come on here and defend my reporting.

Who has seen proof, since May, that there is a case open? A blog that's not too big said that they talked to someone from OPD (unsourced and without any evidence to prove they actually talked to the OPD). There wasn't proof there is an investigation ongoing.
I know people who have seen Buzzy. I know that's also not proof but I trust those people. I understand if you don't trust me and I don't hold it against you.
But Buzzy is safe in WDI's hands.

I consider Orlando Rising a news site, not a blog. My name is John Gregory, been working in journalism covering beats like state government, health care, and politics for 8 years.

I would not and have not made up a quote in a story, as you're accusing me of doing. I have posted screenshots of my emails with the public information officer at the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Here's my first email after the May affidavit in the Patrick Spikes arrest mentioned Buzzy:

They confirmed this again on July 1 after Dave Ensign claimed Buzzy was safe at WDI:

I most recently checked in with the OCSO on Aug. 9 about the status of the investigation:

Those quotes are accurately reflected in the news articles I've posted on the subject that have been posted elsewhere in this thread.

 

[OrlandoRising]

Police officers can only include in their reports what they've been told, what they hear, and what they see first hand. Not everything they report is correct, and that doesn't mean they're lying.

I understand the need to keep source identities confidential, and didn't mean to imply you said they were lying. But some people are saying that the OCSO reports are gospel truth and that we should blindly accept an unattributed statement as fact.

As I posted above, OCSO has confirmed Buzzy was stolen and has not been recovered outside of the affidavit released in May.

I understand and appreciate healthy skepticism, though I will defend myself against false accusations that I'm making this stuff up. If anyone else has questions, I'm happy to answer them here or via email.

 

[skelm]

If anyone wants to read the court document on this case, they are available. A few have been sealed though.

Simply go to the following URL.

Orange County Clerk of Courts Records Search

myeclerk.myorangeclerk.com

Choose "Criminal Felony" as the case type and 2019-CF-007063-A-O as the case number.

If you read the Affidavit to Issue Warrant, it clearly states Buzzy was stolen.

 

[skelm]

It is worth reading as it gives a timeline of how the Haunted Mansion stuff was stolen.

 

[ppete1975]

Who has seen proof, since May, that there is a case open? A blog that's not too big said that they talked to someone from OPD (unsourced and without any evidence to prove they actually talked to the OPD). There wasn't proof there is an investigation ongoing.
I know people who have seen Buzzy. I know that's also not proof but I trust those people. I understand if you don't trust me and I don't hold it against you.
But Buzzy is safe in WDI's hands.

wheres your proof then?

 

[MotherOfBirds]

Filing a false police report is a felony.

 

[Dragonman]

It had to be a team effort to steal Buzzy. There’s no way one person could get up there and pry a 300 pound animatronic off it’s perch and silently make off with it.

 

[skelm]

It had to be a team effort to steal Buzzy. There’s no way one person could get up there and pry a 300 pound animatronic off it’s perch and silently make off with it.

Yeah, no doubt. But from what is in the Affidavit to Issue Warrant, it was indeed stolen and lists other people that helped with the Haunted Mansion theft. So there was more than one person involved.

 

[skelm]

2019-CF-007062-A-O is the case number for the other person involved. Strangely the Affidavit to Issue Warrant is not redacted in this case. It reads almost exactly the same, but no redactions.

 

[NormC]

Sorry for mis-reading! Some here haven't given me a friendly welcome so I'm a little on-gard! I'm sorry for being snippy

What were your previous user names here? Come clean and you can drop the guard.

 

[larryz]

As I posted above, OCSO has confirmed Buzzy was stolen and has not been recovered outside of the affidavit released in May.

I understand and appreciate healthy skepticism, though I will defend myself against false accusations that I'm making this stuff up. If anyone else has questions, I'm happy to answer them here or via email.

I'm not saying you, or the OCSO, or anybody else is lying or making stuff up. But I'm not convinced by the original affidavit that OCSO is acting on reliable information. They may well be, but the wording ("we had learned") is nagging at my critical thinking center.

Here's some food for thought:

 

[OrlandoRising]

I'm not saying you, or the OCSO, or anybody else is lying or making stuff up. But I'm not convinced by the original affidavit that OCSO is acting on reliable information. They may well be, but the wording ("we had learned") is nagging at my critical thinking center.

Again, OCSO has confirmed to me that the animatronic has been stolen, there's an active investigation into the theft, and that the animatronic has not been recovered. I'm not relying on the original affidavit.

As I explained in my July article, as long as the investigation is considered active, records related to the case, including the initial report of the theft, will remain exempt from Florida's Freedom of Information Act law.

 

[LukeS7]

Again, OCSO has confirmed to me that there the animatronic has been stolen, there's an active investigation into the theft, and that the animatronic has not been recovered. I'm not relying on the original affidavit.

As I explained in my July article, as long as the investigation is considered active, records related to the case, including the initial report of the theft, will remain exempt from Florida's Freedom of Information Act law.

I feel like you need to hear this: I believe your reporting.

I think it's absurd that you've provided screenshots of direct communications with the sheriff's office and yet we're still somehow in this same cycle.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I feel like you need to hear this: I believe your reporting.

I think it's absurd that you've provided screenshots of direct communications with the sheriff's office and yet we're still somehow in this same cycle.

I do too.

 

[HMFan999]

@OrlandoRising Out of curiosity, has there been any comment from Disney regarding the matter? I wouldn't be surprised it not, but given their recent behavior of wanting to put rumors to rest maybe they'd be willing to confirm the matter internally.

 

[kpilcher]

I see I have to once again come on here and defend my reporting.



I consider Orlando Rising a news site, not a blog. My name is John Gregory, been working in journalism as reporter covering beats like state government, health care, and politics for 8 years.

I would not and have not made up a quote in a story, as you're accusing me of doing. I have posted screenshots of my emails with the public information officer at the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Here's my first email after the May affidavit in the Patrick Spikes arrest mentioned Buzzy:

View attachment 400222

They confirmed this again on July 1 after Dave Ensign claimed Buzzy was safe at WDI:

View attachment 400221


I most recently checked in with the OCSO on Aug. 9 about the status of the investigation:
View attachment 400223

Those quotes are accurately reflected in the news articles I've posted on the subject that have been posted elsewhere in this thread.

All of this matches what we've heard at my station.