An Arizona social media influencer whose prank-style videos drew millions of views by showing him impersonating workers and disrupting local businesses has pleaded guilty to criminal impersonation.
Heston James Cobb, known online as “Heston James,” entered the plea Friday. According to Tempe police, Cobb and a group of men entered businesses while dressed like employees, moved into staff-only areas and refused to leave after being told to go.
In one widely viewed video, Cobb appeared in a Chipotle Mexican Grill shirt and told workers he planned to “clean house.” Moments later, several men wearing dark shirts streamed into the restaurant and ignored employees’ demands that they leave.
Heston James Cobb was arrested in July 2025 and booked on one count of third-degree burglary, two counts of criminal impersonation, five counts of disorderly conduct and five counts of criminal trespass. On Friday, Cobb pleaded guilty to criminal impersonation. (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)
At one point, another man pretending to be a worker was seen wiping down a tabletop with a mop.
Cobb, who was 21 when he was arrested in July 2025, was tied to pranks at Chipotle, Pep Boys, Hyland Auto Repair, Big Brand Tire & Service and Jiffy Lube, police said.
The incidents took place between March and July 2025, with Cobb acting as the “leader” and telling the others to begin “working” after they entered the businesses, according to police.
In one video Cobb posted and shared by the Tempe Police Department, he wore a Chipotle Mexican Grill shirt 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. (Tempe Police Department)
Videos of the pranks were posted to Cobb’s social media accounts, where they drew millions of views and potentially made large amounts of money, police said.
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Detectives began linking the cases after several of the pranks happened in Tempe in early July. Police eventually identified Cobb as the man behind the Heston James social media accounts.
Cobb 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.
News Media reached out to Cobb’s attorney, Vicki Lopez, for comment through the Rosenstein Law Group but did not immediately hear back.
Steve Chucri, president of the Arizona Restaurant Association, told The Associated Press he hopes Cobb’s punishment is “severe” enough to discourage others from trying similar stunts.
“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.”
A Chipotle logo is displayed outside their restaurant on Feb. 24, 2025, in San Diego, California. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Chucri said the association does not offer restaurants formal training or advice on how to deal with social media pranksters, and he hopes it never has to.
“We’re a society of civility,” Chucri said. “We shouldn’t have to.”
Matthew Pittman, a social media professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, told the outlet he hopes Cobb’s arrest reminds influencers that the law still applies when they are creating content.
“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.”