TikToker poses as employee at Arizona stores for videos, cops say. He’s arrested
A 21-year-old TikToker with hundreds of millions of views pretended to work at stores in Arizona, police said.
He’s since been arrested on multiple charges.
Heston Cobb is accused of disrupting multiple businesses in Tempe from March to July, the Tempe Police Department said in a July 24 news release.
These businesses include Pep Boys, Hyland Auto Repair, Big Brand Tire & Service, Jiffy Lube and Chipotle, police said.
McClatchy News could not immediately reach Cobb for comment on July 25.
Cobb would go into places pretending to be employed there, then had a group of men come in “dressed as employees,” police said.
He would then tell the group to start “working,” police said
The prankster got it all on camera and uploaded the videos to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, where he goes by Heston James.
Most of his videos have millions of views, and police said it’s possible the videos “generated large amounts of money.”
Cobb was arrested July 23 at his home on multiple charges:
- One count of third-degree burglary
- Two counts of criminal impersonation
- Five counts of disorderly conduct
- Five counts of criminal trespass
Cobb has 1.6 million followers on TikTok.
In a March 9 video, he is seen posing as an employee at a Target. The video has 29.4 million views.
Tempe is in the Phoenix metro area.
This story was originally published July 25, 2025 at 11:21 AM with the headline "TikToker poses as employee at Arizona stores for videos, cops say. He’s arrested."
