An Arizona social media influencer pleaded guilty to criminal impersonation after filming a series of disruptive prank videos at local businesses that drew millions of views online.
Heston James Cobb, who posts under the name "Heston James," entered the plea on Friday. Tempe police said Cobb led a group of men into businesses while dressed as employees, entered employee-only areas, and refused to leave when asked.
In one video, Cobb wore a Chipotle Mexican Grill shirt and told employees he was going to "clean house" before a group of men in dark shirts poured into the restaurant and ignored requests to leave. One man posing as an employee cleaned a tabletop with a mop.
Police linked Cobb to pranks at Chipotle, Pep Boys, Hyland Auto Repair, Big Brand Tire and Service, and Jiffy Lube. The incidents took place between March and July 2025, with Cobb acting as the leader and directing others to begin working after entering the businesses. Detectives began connecting the cases after several pranks occurred in Tempe in early July 2025.
Cobb was 21 when he was arrested at his home on July 23, 2025. He was booked on one count of third-degree burglary, two counts of criminal impersonation, five counts of disorderly conduct, and five counts of criminal trespass. Police said the videos potentially made large amounts of money through his social media accounts.
Steve Chucri, president of the Arizona Restaurant Association, told The Associated Press he hopes the punishment is severe enough to discourage others. "There's no place for it," Chucri said. "That's the last thing we need to put up with in the restaurant industry. The amount of money it takes to operate today is expensive." Chucri also said the association does not offer restaurants formal training on how to handle social media pranksters and hopes it never has to. "We're a society of civility," he said. "We shouldn't have to."
Matthew Pittman, a social media professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, said Cobb's arrest should serve as a reminder to content creators. "So doing something that is illegal in real life would also be illegal on social, even if you are doing it for content," Pittman said. "This is a clear case of going beyond what the law allows."
Fox News Digital reached out to Cobb's attorney, Vicki Lopez, at the Rosenstein Law Group but did not immediately receive a response.
