Viral Prankster Heston James Arrested After Business Disruptions in Tempe
So, you’ve probably seen some of those viral prank videos floating around your feed—guys pretending to be employees, storming into restaurants or auto shops, acting like they’re “from corporate,” and generally causing chaos. Well, the guy behind a lot of those clips, who goes by Heston James online, just got arrested in Arizona. Turns out, those stunts weren’t just disruptive—they were illegal.
Heston Cobb, his real name, is a 24-year-old social media influencer who’s built a pretty large following by pulling these elaborate prank videos with a crew. From March to July this year, he and his group were popping into places like Chipotle, Pep Boys, Hyland Auto Repair, Big Brand Tire & Service, and Jiffy Lube—mostly around Tempe—dressed like staff. They’d walk into employee-only areas, start fake “working,” and refuse to leave, all while filming.
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In one of the more viral clips, Heston went into a Chipotle and told actual employees that he was sent in to “clean house” because the portion sizes had been “lacking.” Then, he called in his fake crew, who ran in and started pretending to clean while trying to go behind the counter. The store manager ended up having to call the police.
Another video showed him at Hyland Auto Repair, pretending to be from corporate. He brought in a van full of guys posing as mechanics. They jumped out, grabbed tools, and even tried to go under customers’ cars. Staff at the shop were yelling for them to get out. Honestly, it looked more like a heist than a prank.
Police say Heston was the ringleader—he was the one calling the shots, telling his crew when to go in and what to do. He was finally arrested at his home in Tempe and is now facing a whole list of charges: five counts of disorderly conduct, five counts of criminal trespass, two counts of criminal impersonation, and even burglary.
Authorities are still investigating, and more people from his crew might be arrested soon. The big message from the police here is clear: if your idea of a prank involves invading a business, impersonating staff, and causing real disruption, that’s not just “for the content”—it’s a crime.
So yeah, social media fame might come fast, but it looks like for Heston James, so do the consequences.
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