Sep 23, 2024

The Force is NOT with Him: Man Poses as Disney Cast Member, Takes $10,000 Star Wars Droid, After Applying for Security job

by Diane Lilli | Jul 12, 2022
David Proudfoot, 44 Photo Source: David Proudfoot. (Daily Mail via Orange County Incarceration)

A 44-year-old Florida man, attempting to get a job at Disney on their security team, has a few unsettling things to add to his resume after his last trip to Disneyland.

David Emerson Proudfoot of Kissimmee, Florida, was caught Micky-Mouse white-handed after he posed as a Disney World Cast Member at Disneyland and then tried to steal a Disney $10,000 R2-D2 Droid plus an arcade video game worth $3,500.

Orange County Circuit Court Probable Cause documents report Proudfoot was charged with two charges of grand theft in the 3rd-degree; petty theft of $100 or more; obstruction by false information; tampering with a coin-operated machine and scheming to defraud.

Eyewitnesses from Disney Security detailed Proudfoot’s actions, and though Proudfoot admitted his behavior, he claimed he was just trying to get a job on the security team and trying to find loopholes in their systems.

Disney security staff watched Proudfoot, in real-time, use a cart backstage on Epcot Resorts Boulevard, at the Disney resort property at Swan Reserve, located outside Epcot.

At the time he was pushing the cart, Proudfoot was wearing both a Disney World Cast Member name tag and also a reflective bright orange vest and work pants, often worn by workers.

A security guard, believing Proudfoot might be lost or confused, decided to help him. The guard approached him en route and offered his assistance.

The security guard quickly realized something was amiss in the man’s story. He said Proudfoot didn’t seem to know the security procedures for entering the Disney loading dock, which seemed “suspicious” to him.

Proudfoot claimed his name was ‘David Rodgers’ and that he worked at Disney World's Yacht Club Resort, in the Receiving department. He also told the security guard his manager worked out of Burbank, California, and not in Florida.

The witness said Proudfoot was wearing a “gray t-shirt, beige work pants, and a high visibility orange work vest…a Walt Disney World issued name tag with ‘David’ inscribed,” identified himself as “David E. Rodgers,” and provided a birthdate and address. He claimed that part of his job was “to move items from one location to another.”

The security guard called local police. Disney Security looked up the staff names Proudfoot had shared for himself and that of his alleged boss, but no names were found in the Disney directory matching them.

Then, Proudfoot allegedly led the authorities on a wild goose chase.

Court documents report that, over a 3 1/2 hour period, the local Police officers and security took Proudfoot to Disney World's Yacht Club Resort, where he claimed to work, but that he got lost on the property and then could not open “his employee locker.”

The Probable Cause document states, “David proceeded to wander through the back areas of the hotel. At one point we crossed over to the Beach Club side of the resort complex. David got lost another time, backtracked and was finally able to locate a case member locker room. Once inside the locker room he went to a row of lockers in the ‘800’ section. He appeared confused and could not remember for find a locker where he left his things.”

Eventually, one of the police officers told Proudfoot he knew he had a wallet in his pocket. It was then the defendant pulled out his wallet, where his license showing his full name, David Emerson Proudfoot, was on his driver’s license.

Proudfoot then admitted he had taken and moved the $10,000 R2-D2 Star Wars droid. The defendant confessed he took the expensive Disney droid from the Swan Reserve’s third floor to another "unknown location” inside the resort.

He also admitted he stole an arcade game, Duck Catcher, worth $3,500 from the nearby Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel.

Court records show Proudfoot told officers that he had applied to work for the Walt Disney World Security department, and just wanted to move the two Disney products only to prove a point.

The legal affidavit states Proudfoot allegedly said he “ had an application for Walt Disney World Security pending and was moving the items to show weaknesses in the security of the resorts in the hope of securing a better paying job at Walt Disney World.”

The Orlando Sentinel reports that authorities searching Proudfoot’s home after his arrest discovered additional stolen Disney property. Some of the items found in his home, reportedly stolen from Disney, include expensive $1000 light fixtures, ripped from a bathroom; a wooden towel cabinet worth an estimated $4,000, a gold necklace worth over $700, and other items.

Proudfoot is currently being held at the Orange County Jail on a $9,650 bond.

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Diane Lilli
Diane Lilli
Diane Lilli is an award-winning Journalist, Editor, and Author with over 18 years of experience contributing to New Jersey news outlets, both in print and online. Notably, she played a pivotal role in launching the first daily digital newspaper, Jersey Tomato Press, in 2005. Her work has been featured in various newspapers, journals, magazines, and literary publications across the nation. Diane is the proud recipient of the Shirley Chisholm Journalism Award.