Times Square is the latest destination for costumed characters behaving badly as entertainment icons Chewbacca, a Stormtrooper and Cookie Monster were arrested within 30 minutes of each other on Tuesday for not getting properly tipped.
Around 3:30 p.m., just steps from the NYPD substation, a woman dressed as the furry, blue Sesame Street character Cookie Monster posed for a photo with a 39-year-old woman. The friendly exchange turned ugly when Cookie Monster began demanding tips, police said. Officers arrested the woman inside the suit – 29-year-old Nestorina Morales Perez, of Paterson, New Jersey, and charged her with aggressive panhandling and harassment.
Just half an hour later, police arrested Chewbacca and a Stormtrooper after the characters confronted a 71-year-old near W 45th Street and Broadway. The two had posed with the victim and demanded money after, not allowing the man to leave until he paid them $10 each, according to Gothamist.
Officers arrested 40-year-old Robert Williams, of the Bronx, and Casey Braxton, 36, from Brooklyn. Both were charged with aggressive panhandling and Williams faces an additional charge of harassment.