ORLANDO, Fla. _ Sometimes, people recognize Patrick Spikes out in public and stop to ask, "Aren't you that guy who stole stuff from Disney?"
Spikes' legal troubles were an internet sensation after the 25-year-old was accused of taking items from the theme parks and selling them online. One of his high-profile customers, court records revealed, was NBA player Robin Lopez.
"I don't think I'm as bad a guy as people think I am," the former Disney World employee said in a recent phone interview with the Orlando Sentinel, the first time he has talked with the newspaper since his Feb. 4 plea deal.
The first thing strangers usually ask is "How did you get away with it?"
"I really didn't," Spikes said.
Under the plea deal, Spikes pleaded no contest to dealing stolen property. He has already paid his required $25,308 in restitution, which includes $10,700 to Lopez and $6,703 to Disney, court records show. He also performed 250 hours of community service.
The state attorney's office originally had charged Spikes with burglary at Epcot and the Magic Kingdom as well as grand theft and trafficking in stolen Haunted Mansion costumes, according to court records.
