TikToker could be jailed for nine years over viral video with 16,000,000 views
Another content creator could be about to learn that actions have consequences, with 'prankster' Heston James facing nearly 10 years in an American jail after he was arrested in Arizona.
We're sure you've all seen the viral TikTok videos where pranksters ridicule members of the public, and while some are relatively harmless games in supermarkets, others are far more extreme.
As we've seen from the case of Vitaly Zdorovetskiy facing up to 24 years in a Filipino jail due to his many 'pranks', Thomas Anthony Brienza being arrested for claiming he had a bomb in an airport, Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov for taking a Diet Coke to the forbidden North Sentinel Island, and Thanh Cong Ngo carving KICK.COM into a national monument, the message sadly doesn't seem to be getting through.
Basically, doing viral stunts for clicks can land you in some serious trouble.
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Heston James (real name Heston Cobb) could be slapped with a nine-year and eight-month prison sentence for a series of videos where he falsely posed as an employee of legitimate businesses in Tempe, Arizona.
Authorities confirm businesses affected include Pep Boys, Hyland Auto Repair, Big Brand Tire & Service, Jiffy Lube, and Chipotle. His Hyland Auto Repair video is the most infamous and has racked up a whopping 16 million views.
In the clip, Cobb claims he's 'from corporate' and insists that 'his guys' have to come in because the workers at the repair shop have been doing a slow job. Despite staff easily seeing through the ruse, things escalate when a van pulls up and a harem of Cobb's friends pile out before running around the garage and crawling under cars.
Other videos show his gang descending on a counter of bewildered Chipotle staff, as well as him screaming in a supermarket and then acting dumb when employees confronted him. Another includes Fortnite player Turner "Tfue" Tenney joining in on the joke as they scream in a store.
Although the Tempe Police Department's announcement lists Cobb as 21, Arizona court records for a person with the same name claim his birthday is May 2001, which makes him 24.
Cobb has now been charged with Burglary in the Third Degree, Criminal Impersonation, Disorderly Conduct, and Criminal Trespass.
Still, the divisive Adin Ross has come to Cobb's aid. Speaking on Kick, Ross said: "Here’s my thing, there are people who deserve to go to jail for a long time, and they get less than him. You know what I’m trying to say? Like, 9 years for f**king pranks?"
Vowing to stump up the cost for Cobb's case, Ross continued: "I’m gonna help him, f**k it. Let’s help him out. Tell Heston I got him. My lawyer wants to take on this case.
“We’re gonna get him out of there. I ain’t gonna lie, though. These fees are about to be six figures, but he’s a kid. I’ll do it."
This should still serve as a warning for others, as Officer Jessica Ellis told AZFamily: "These videos are definitely not pranks. They are crossing the line from something that’s fun and playful into criminal territory. They’re breaking laws.
"They are going into these businesses and impersonating the employees. That actually is a felony charge."
Cobb's arrest comes just months after a similar case where a man was arrested for spraying bug killer on food in an Arizona supermarket as part of a social media 'prank'.