A Sesame Street character leaped out of the screen to create some drama on the streets of Santa Cruz, California. Police have warned people to steer clear of a man dressed in a Cookie Monster costume who has been running around harassing and screaming at people.
“We are getting calls from people who say he is ‘creepy.’ Based on his history, we advise the public to not engage with this individual. Steer clear from him,” Santa Cruz Police Department spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke said.
Officers have identified the Cookie Monster as Adam Sandler and it’s not his first time publicly harassing people. Sandler has a history of similar offences in other U.S. states. In the mid-2010s, he was known as the “Evil Elmo” after getting public coverage for startling people in an Elmo costume.
Sandler was charged with being a public nuisance after frightening a store owner on Fisherman’s Wharf and he had to put a sign up to inform his customers that he wasn’t an employee. He pleaded guilty to the offences and was banned from a few tourist attractions and was also placed on probation for five years.
Evil Elmo takes on a new identity as the Cookie Monster and a Santa Cruz resident reported the appearance in a Facebook post. A commentator wrote: “My daughter works on the wharf, this creep is out there every day and the cops won’t do anything until he gets out of line.”
Another added: “He’s only here because he got kicked out from everywhere else. Hopefully, we are smart to make his stay brief here as well.”
A click comes at a cost, the Cookie Monster was ready to charge people in exchange for photos: “He said he needed to make 59 to 60 dollars per day. At some point, he removed the screen on his face, and yes, he is the rough-looking guy in the LA article. I actually felt sorry for him!”
Officials recommend that people take a hard pass on this photo opportunity, Blaschke said: “I would not take a photo with him.”