An alleged prankster has been busted after a teddy bear that appeared to be made of human skin was found at a bus stop in California and made national headlines.
Hector Corona Villanueva, 23, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of intentionally and wrongly planting phony evidence and causing an emergency response knowing it to be, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
‘Incidents such as this take up valuable emergency resources and put the public at risk, possibly delaying response time to legitimate calls for service,’ stated the department.
‘We would like to thank those that reported information that was helpful during the investigation of this case.’
The disturbing toy was found outside of an ampm gas station convenience store in the small town of Victorville shortly after midday on Sunday.
‘Callers indicated a teddy bear made of what looked like human flesh was left in front of the business,’ stated the sheriff’s department.
Photos showed a bear-like object with eyes, ears, a nose and stitching across its body. It appeared to be of human skin tone with blood marks throughout.
An investigator with the county coroner’s office picked up the bear using a glove and observed it, before putting it into a plastic evidence bag.
‘It has been determined that the teddy bear is not made of any type of human remains or skin,’ the sheriff’s department later announced.
The investigation then turned to who left the bear there.
Robert Kelly of Dark Seed Creations, a South Carolina artist who specialises in special effects designs made of latex, claimed responsibility for creating the bear.
‘I can’t make this s*** up! One of my skin teddy bears has apparently been involved in a prank that brought police attention! This is f***ing wild!’ Dark Seed Creations posted on Facebook on Sunday.
In another post, Dark Seed Creations wrote that their phone was blowing up with questions and provided more details.
‘Yes I made the bear in the news video… Yes that’s my etsy shop screenshotted on the news articles… Yes I did ship that bear to an etsy customer in Victorville CA last week… Yes you can still order one too,’ states the post.
‘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.’
It included a video showing similar bears. Kelly sells them for $165 apiece.
Dark Seed Creations describes itself on Facebook as ‘the purveyor of the perverse, manipulator of the macabre, developer of the diabolical, maker of masks’.
As authorities did forensic testing on the bear, the sheriff’s department did not rule anything out.
‘A coroner investigator has taken possession of the object, and the investigation is continuing,’ stated sheriff’s department spokesperson Mara Rodriguez before the arrest.
Villanueva is from Victorville, which is about 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
