Witness Describes Harrowing Chuck E. Cheese Arrest, Children's Post-Incident Questions

Not since the Times Square Elmo that smells like pee and shakes tourists down for pictures was arrested for groping people has a costumed character's arrest gotten as much attention as a Tallahassee Chuck E. Cheese's very public cuffing.

The man behind the mask of the bad pizza and skee-ball peddling chain was Jermell J. Jones, and he's facing charges in connection with the alleged theft of a credit card.

The photos and videos of the incident went viral and one thing that a lot of people picked up on — both from the photos and from the fact that it's a Chuck E. Cheese we're talking about — there were a lot of kids who showed up to the restaurant for an afternoon of trying to win enough tickets for a kazoo and guzzling the Mountain Dew their mom won't let them have it home.

Instead, they got treated to an impromptu "Scared Straight" session about the perils of allegedly stealing credit cards.

"I was in the midst of pushing Jenny towards Chuck E.," Chuck E. Cheese patron Courtney Gegenheimer told Fox 35 Orlando. "The cop grabbed one wrist and another one grabbed the other wrist, put it behind his back, told him not to resist. And at the same time, I’m pulling my kids away — like, what’s going on in the midst of this?" 

I mean, it would seem like Chuck made some poor choices. I see it as a teachable moment. Kids' lives aren't going to be all about playing WaveRunner, Golden Tee, and eating s--tty pizza. 

Sometimes, they're going to have to sit there and watch a mascot get arrested.

"When they had him at the truck, they took off his head and put it on top of the SUV," Gugenheimer recalled.

That's rough on a kid. We all know there's some dude beneath the costume, but it's always jarring to come face-to-face with this reality. 

I used to work for a radio station, and one day my job was to be the Phillie Phanatic's wrangler for a station event. The Phanatic told me what to do with his human voice while sitting in the back of the station van in full costume.

It was startling, and I was like 24-years-old at the time.

The kids in Chuck E. Cheese may need a few talk therapy seshes after this.

"They’ve been asking a hundred questions — like, does this mean Chuck E.’s gone forever?" she said. "Like, what now?"

Yeah, I don't envy having to field that one. How do you answer that?

"Well, that Chuck E. might be going away for a while, but that's probably going to depend on whether or not he had a record or mandatory minimum sentences. I'm thinking maybe he goes away for a year and then gets probation… anyway, you gonna eat that pizza crust?"