An Arizona social media personality whose prank-style videos drew millions of views by pretending to work at local businesses and staging chaotic “takeover” scenes has admitted to a criminal impersonation charge.
Heston James Cobb, known online as “Heston James,” pleaded guilty Friday. According to Tempe police, Cobb and several other men entered businesses dressed as if they were employees, moved into staff-only spaces and refused to leave after workers told them to go.
In one widely circulated video, Cobb is seen wearing a Chipotle Mexican Grill shirt while telling employees he planned to “clean house.” Moments later, a group of men in dark shirts entered the restaurant and stayed despite repeated 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. Cobb pleaded guilty Friday to criminal impersonation. (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)
At one point during the Chipotle incident, one of the men pretending to be on staff used a mop to wipe down a tabletop.
Cobb, who was 21 at the time of his July 2025 arrest, was linked by investigators to similar prank incidents at several Tempe-area businesses, including Chipotle, Pep Boys, Hyland Auto Repair, Big Brand Tire & Service and Jiffy Lube.
Police said the incidents occurred from March through July 2025, with Cobb allegedly taking the lead and instructing the others to start “working” once they had made their way inside the businesses.
In a video Cobb posted that was later shared by the Tempe Police Department, he is shown wearing a Chipotle Mexican Grill shirt and telling employees he was going to “clean house” before several men in dark shirts entered the restaurant and disregarded orders 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.
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 Outlet 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.”
