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Social media influencer accused of disrupting Phoenix area businesses pleads guilty

By
FOX 10 Phoenix
Crime and Public Safety
Updated August 31, 2026 6:07 AM MST Published August 31, 2026 6:06 AM MST

The Brief

    • Heston Cobb has reportedly pleaded guilty to criminal impersonation, FOX 10 has learned.
    • Cobb was arrested after Tempe Police linked him to a number of disruptions at businesses in 2025.
    • At the time, police said video of the incidents were posted to social media.

TEMPE, Ariz. - We have learned that a social media influencer accused of disrupting various Phoenix area businesses in a series of prank videos has made a plea deal in court.

What we know:

According to reports, Heston Cobb pleaded guilty to criminal impersonation.

Heston Cobb

Heston Cobb

The backstory:

In July 2025, we reported on Cobb's arrest. At the time, Tempe Police said that "between the months of March and July, businesses began reporting instances of a group of men coming into their stores dressed as employees."

These men began seriously disrupting their businesses by entering employee-only areas and refusing to leave when asked," read a portion of the statement. "One man was identified as the ‘leader’ of the group, instructed the others to begin 'working.'"

Investigators say the alleged acts were posted on the social media pages of a person named "Heston James."

"The videos garnered millions of views and potentially generated large amounts of money," investigators wrote.

Police at the time say they started to link the cases after a series of such pranks took place in Tempe at the start of July, and they eventually connected Cobb to the alleged act. Cobb was arrested at his home.

The Source: Information for this article was gathered from previous FOX 10 news reports.

Crime and Public SafetyTempeNews