‘Human skin' teddy bear was left at a SoCal gas station as a prank. Suspected prankster arrested
On Monday, Hector Corona Villanueva was arrested on suspicion of filing a report to authorities of an emergency, knowing it was false and intentionally planting evidence to falsely present it as real, according to a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department news release.
'Incidents such as this take up valuable emergency resources and put the public at risk, possibly delaying response time to legitimate calls for service,' according to the release. 'We would like to thank those that reported information that was helpful during the investigation of this case.'
On Sunday at 12:07 p.m., deputies from the Victorville Police Department responded to a call at the AMPM gas station on Bear Valley Road, officials said. Deputies found a teddy bear that was made of what looked like human skin. The San Bernardino County coroner collected the bear and determined it wasn't made of human remains.
South Carolina artist Robert Kelly of Dark Seed Creations confirmed in a Facebook post that she was the creator of the bear and had shipped one of them to an Etsy customer in Victorville last week.
The bears in the Facebook video Kelly posted were stitched together like a Frankenstein monster with 'human skin' and tinged with what appeared to be blood.
'No, I did not have any knowledge of the buyers intentions nor was I involved in a prank on the other side of the nation from me,' she wrote.
The bear sells for $165 on the seller's Etsy shop and is now sold out.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
29 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Commissioner Jim Biggs doesn't show at council meeting as controversy continues over dispatch
Porter County Commissioner Jim Biggs was placed on the agenda to speak at Monday's Chesterton Town Council meeting, but didn't show to the disappointment of council members. Chesterton town council members said that Biggs twice was publicly invited in particular to discuss his statements about the Chesterton/Porter joint dispatch center after the June 18 officer-involved shooting in front of the Hilton Inn on Gateway Boulevard. Joseph P. Gerber, 45, died from a self-inflicted wound after exchanging several gunshots with two Chesterton police officers, wounding one of them. But Biggs said in a statement issued to the Post-Tribune that he 'was never formally invited through email, phone call, or written letter to attend this meeting.' 'Furthermore, no town official has approached me with an invitation to attend this meeting. It was only through a newspaper article, and a Facebook post did I learn that I had been added to the agenda. Lastly, it does our public and the concern for officer safety an injustice to attend and be subjected to more petty personal attacks in order to deflect from the real issue at hand,' Biggs said. Council President Sharon Darnell, D-4th, said that she and Councilwoman Erin Collins, D-2nd, had attended a news conference Biggs held on July 1 and spoke to him afterward. She said that Biggs stated his most pointed issue was to be able to discuss 'freely and openly' the county E911 center and the Chesterton/Porter joint dispatch. 'I am not a person who likes to meet anywhere but in a public forum,' Darnell said. 'Maybe we'll figure something else out, but that's the only way we're going to figure this whole thing out. We're not going to do it in a closed room.' Collins said that Biggs was invited twice by the council to appear. 'I think it was an opportunity for Commissioner Biggs to address the very people that he was elected to represent and serve. His absence tonight is a disservice to them and to the spirit of transparency and accountability in local government,' Collins said. Biggs lives in Chesterton and is the commissioner who represents northern Porter County. He is the president of that board. Collins said that at some point, the town and the county should have a meeting. 'They must take place in public. Not behind closed doors, not through political press conferences and certainly not by exploiting a tragedy to advance a narrative.' Collins said. Collins said the council stands firm in its call for the resignation of Debby Gunn as the E-911 administrator 'for repeated unprofessional conduct and false and misleading public statements.' Gunn contended there was a nearly five-minute delay in the request for an ambulance to the officer, an allegation that was staunchly denied by the town of Chesterton. On the morning of the shooting, Biggs contacted the Post-Tribune and noted that it was time for the Chesterton/Porter dispatch to join the county's E-911 system and that an increase in the county law enforcement tax was needed to cover it. Councilman James Ton, R-1st, said that Chesterton adheres to the standards of the Shared Ethics Advisory Commission and should a meeting occur, the town is committed to 'civility and transparency'. 'I haven't witnessed this in some discussions of this in the past,' Ton said. Biggs, in his statement to the Post-Tribune Monday, said as a resident, some might have the same questions about why Chesterton and Porter would continue to want to have a separate dispatch center. The commissioner listed several questions which included: why in a police emergency is a caller required to speak to two different dispatchers in two location; if the E911 center handles all medical and fire calls, aren't they good enough to handle police calls; if the E911 center is good enough to dispatch police for every other municipality, why isn't it good enough for Chesterton and Porter; and do the residents receive any money outside of Chesterton and Porter taxpayers' dollars to fund the separate dispatch center. 'If the residents of Chesterton and Porter have more questions concerning this issue, I, as their commissioner, would be happy to facilitate a forum of non-biased public safety officials to provide answers,' Biggs said. 'It is true that Chesterton and Porter are under no obligation to consolidate now or ever. This is also true from the county's perspective. As things now stand, this will continue to be the financial responsibility and public safety liability for the governing bodies and law enforcement leadership of both towns.' Chesterton Police Chief Tim Richardson said he did receive an email from Gunn two days ago, asking if he and Porter Police Chief Dan Dickey would want to sit down with her to speak about how to make the operation between the two dispatch centers more efficient. Richardson said that if the meeting occurs, he wants to have his council liaison, who is Ton, attend. Jennifer Klug, a Porter resident, said that she believes the towns should keep their joint dispatch center. 'I don't appreciate Mr. Biggs or Ms. Gunn saying some of the things they did in public. I think that it's not only unprofessional, but I think in a situation like that, people have to stand together and work on something,' Klug said.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jury returns verdict over Jaguar Land Rover collision that led to amputation
A project manager has been cleared of a health and safety offence after one of his staff lost part of his leg in a forklift truck collision at Jaguar Land Rover. Gordon Wellings, aged 66, was accused of being responsible for an incident at the plant in Lode Lane, Solihull on August 13, 2020, when he was overseeing the installation of high-level pipework. A trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard that he had tasked Kevin McGunnigle and a colleague to move some large unused pipes. READ MORE: 'Chop your legs off' - Full story of honeytrap plot sparked by Facebook post The workers decided to use a forklift truck to transport the six metre long, 40 kilogram tubes from the far corner of the warehouse, known as the 'graveyard', to the location where they were to be installed. But as they negotiated a dog-leg bend 57-year-old Mr Gunnigle, who was walking alongside the truck guiding the way, got his leg caught underneath the vehicle. It resulted in him having to have part of the limb amputated. Mr Wellings, of Longheadland in Ombersley, Droitwich, was accused of only giving Mr Gunnigle and his colleague 'vague instructions' before he 'left them to get on with it'. It was also argued by the prosecution he had not completed a risk assessment and method statement or sought approval for the job from principal contractor Fox Health and Safety Services. However following nine hours' deliberation a jury found Mr Wellings not guilty of a health and safety offence by a majority verdict. He was subsequently acquitted.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
A teddy bear appeared to be wrapped in human flesh. Turns out it was a prank.
'They're Selling a 'Human Skin' Teddy Bear on Etsy… And You're Still Calling Us Crazy?' In what police called 'a very bizarre incident,' officers arrested a man after what appeared to be a teddy bear wrapped in human flesh was left outside a Southern California convenience store. Hector Corona Villanueva, 23, of Victorville was arrested in connection to the macabre prank on charges of reporting an emergency knowing it to be false and intentionally and wrongfully planting evidence to falsely present as real, the San Bernadino Sheriff's Department reported. Just after noon local time on Sunday, July 13, the sheriff's department said, Victorville Police Department officers responded to a suspicious circumstances call at the AMPM gas station on Bear Valley Road. "Callers indicated a teddy bear made of what looked like human flesh was left in front of the business," the sheriff's office wrote in a news release. An investigator with the San Bernardino County Coroner office responded and collected the teddy bear, officials said. Gas leak disaster: House explodes during New Jersey flooding, nearby homes damaged Teddy bear found with 'human flesh' examined by coroner After further examination, officials said, the sheriff-coroner department's office determined the teddy bear "is not made of any type of human remains or skin." A motive in the case was not immediately known. As of July 15, Villanueva was not listed as an inmate in the local jail. It was not immediatly known whether he had obtained legal counsel in the case. "Incidents such as this take up valuable emergency resources and put the public at risk, possibly delaying response time to legitimate calls for service," the department wrote. "We would like to thank those that reported information that was helpful during the investigation of this case." Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Victorville police at 760-241-2911 or sheriff's office dispatch at 760-956-5001. Callers wishing to remain anonymous are urged to call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78CRIME or visit website at Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund.
