Latest news with #Victorville
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'Human skin' teddy bear discovery blows a lid on popular online marketplace for despicable items
It was a grotesque teddy bear so lifelike, it sparked a full blown police investigation in California after bystanders believed it had been stitched from real human skin. The macabre bear, purchased on online marketplace Etsy, had been left outside a gas station in Victorville, making for a disturbing find for customers who called 911 on Monday.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
A teddy bear appeared to be wrapped in human flesh. Turns out it was a prank.
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. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Teddy bear wrapped in what looked like human skin found outside store Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Arrest made in macabre ‘human flesh' teddy bear prank in Southern California
An arrest has been made after what appeared to be a teddy bear wrapped in human flesh was left outside a Victorville convenience store, prompting a law enforcement investigation Sunday. The bizarre incident unfolded just after 12:00 p.m. outside an AMPM store in the 1300 block of Bear Valley Road, officials with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department confirmed to KTLA. Deputies responded to the location on a report of human remains spotted outside the convenience store, which was cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape, while a coroner's investigator examined the teddy bear before placing it in a pink-colored plastic bag for further examination at the department. The macabre story quickly went viral, catching the attention of a special-effects prop artist in Summerville, South Carolina whose company, Dark Seed Creations, specializes in making human-flesh like dolls, including the 'Human Skin Teddy Bear,' which sells on the popular online marketplace Etsy for $165. 'You can't make this sh*t up! One of my skin teddy bears has apparently been involved in a prank that brought police attention! This is f****** wild!' a Facebook post from Dark Seed Creations read shortly after the news broke. Assault rifle, ammo 'missing' from trunk of L.A. deputies' patrol vehicle The artist, Robert Kelly, told KTLA that the teddy bear and other similar props get their macabre look from their latex coverings and that he did, in fact, sell one of the teddy bears to a customer in Victorville last week. In a news release put out this after, SBCSD officials said a man identified as 23-year-old Victorville resident Hector Corona Villanueva was arrested in connection with the prank. 'Incidents such as this take up valuable emergency resources and put the public at risk, possibly delaying response time to legitimate calls for service. We would like to thank those that reported information that was helpful during the investigation of this case,' officials said. The 23-year-old was booked for causing the report of an emergency while knowing it to be false and intentionally and wrongfully planting evidence to falsely present as real. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Yahoo
Teddy bear made from fake human skin leads to California arrest
A man in California has been arrested after police say he staged a "macabre teddy bear" made to look as if it were constructed from human flesh at a petrol station. Hector Corona Villanueva, 23, is accused of planting false evidence and causing an emergency by leaving the bizarre creation at an AMPM service station on Sunday afternoon in the city of Victorville. The bear's discovery led to a police investigation and a coroner's examination of the item, while the petrol station was closed as a sense of unease spread in the community. On Monday, the sheriff's office ruled the bear wasn't made of any human body parts and dubbed the toy a "prank". Mr Villanueva was identified and arrested on Monday. It is unclear whether he has hired a lawyer who can speak on his behalf. The gruesome discovery in Victorville, 80 miles (130km) northeast of Los Angeles, had locals worried about a possible serial killer on the loose. The item was found around midday on Sunday at the filling station on Bear Valley Road when a witness called police to report that "a teddy bear made of what looked like human flesh was left in front of the business". A video posted online shows police responding to the scene as a glove-clad official from the coroner's office examines the object and places it into an evidence bag. A statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's office on Monday did not mention a potential motive, and said the "investigation into who left the teddy bear at the business is continuing". "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 statement said. "We would like to thank those that reported information that was helpful during the investigation of this case." South Carolina artist Robert Kelly has taken credit for creating the object, telling US media that he recently sold the figure to a buyer in Victorville. "Our work is pretty easily recognisable, and people were sending the articles (about the petrol station) left and right. I looked, and sure enough it was the bear I sent out last week," Mr Kelly told People magazine. "Every artist wants credit [for] their work, so I said 'I made that', and haven't been able to catch up with messages since." In a post to Facebook on Sunday, Mr Kelly denied having any knowledge of what the buyer intended to do with the bear. "No I did not have any knowledge of the [buyer's] intentions nor was I involved in a prank on the other side of the nation from me," he wrote. Mr Kelly, who sells his work through a shop on the website Etsy, specialises in horror creations for Halloween displays and films. Other items are also made to resemble construction from human body parts, similar to the bear.
CBS News
15-07-2025
- CBS News
Victorville man arrested for leaving "macabre teddy bear" at gas station, authorities say
Authorities have arrested the man who allegedly left a "macabre teddy bear" at a Victorville gas station over the weekend, prompting unnecessary calls for emergency service. They were called to the AMPM in the 13660 block of Bear Valley Road at around 12 p.m. after receiving a suspicious circumstances call, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department "Callers indicated a teddy bear made of what looked like human flesh was left in front of the business," said SBSD's statement on Monday. "Upon arriving, deputies located the teddy bear and began their investigation." Investigators took the bear into evidence, determining that it was not actually made of any human remains or skin, but rather manmade material, the statement said. On Monday, they announced that a man had been arrested in connection with the incident. Hector Corona Villanueva, 23, of Victorville, was arrested and booked for causing the report of an emergency while knowing it to be false and intentionally and wrongfully planting evidence to falsely present as real. "Incidents such as this take up valuable emergency resources and put the public at risk, possibly delaying response time to legitimate calls for service," deputies said.
