ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WESH) —A former Disney employee arrested last year for stealing costumes and memorabilia from the Magic Kingdom has agreed to a plea deal that will keep him out of jail.
Patrick Spikes was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years probation, 250 hours of community service and restitution.
Spikes of Winter Garden and his cousin Blaytin Taunton of Kissimmee were set to stand trial last month, but that was canceled.
Spikes and Taunton faced felony charges for allegedly sneaking into Disney and stealing valuable memorabilia. They were arrested in May 2019.
According to the arrest affidavit, Spikes and Taunton snuck into the Magic Kingdom and stole costumes and wigs worth $7,200 from the Haunted Mansion.
The documents claim Spikes later received almost $30,000 in payments through PayPal from two different people, including a Winter Park man.
That man told investigators “he had purchased multiple items from Patrick Spikes including the haunted mansion dress…(he said) Spikes represented the items as his personal belongings obtained from Disney with permission.”
Investigators said they believe the men committed the Disney burglaries between June of 2018 and January of 2019.
They said the two pretended to be working in order to gain access and used secret underground tunnels for employees only.
Responding to WESH 2 News questions about the investigation, Disney called it a law enforcement matter.
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