Who Is Charlie Ross? New Details About The Youtuber Arrested For Impersonating Police Officer
This isn't his first arrest.
instagram Who doesn’t love a good April Fools prank? It’s the one day a year that people are cautious of what they read on the internet, and what comes out of their friends and loved ones’ mouths. But sometimes people take things too far, like in the cast of Charlie Ross.
Who is Charlie Ross? He’s YouTuber known for his pranks on his channel, and according to his YouTube biography, “Combining comedy, courage, and creativity: Ross can’t help but push the limits as he struggles to find his place in society. You’re free to live vicariously through him as he disguises his stupidity as "entertainment, pranks, and stunts.”
But “stupidity,” in this case, is a major understatement, as the YouTube personality was arrested on April 1st for impersonating a police officer.
On April Fools Day, Ross pretended to be a cop and issued a fake ticket to a mother and her two children outside of Steak n’ Shake in Sarasota, Florida. According to the affidavit, Ross tried to cite the woman for a traffic violation, wearing a police uniform and carrying a baton under his belt. The unidentified woman said Ross was going to write her a ticket but after she questioned who he was and where he worked, he became aggressive, eventually revealing that it was a prank and giving her concert tickets.
His “prank” didn’t end there, because Ross went back to his vehicle and drove off, but not before driving past the woman and insulting her. The woman took a picture of his white minivan, which police later used to identify Ross.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office later posted a tweet of the security tape that captured the “prank.”
Ross was released on $10,000 bond, but impersonating a police officer is punishable by up to five years in jail.
And if you feel bad for this YouTuber for his prank gone wrong, you shouldn’t because this isn’t the first time he’s been arrested in an effort to get views. He’s been arrested and charged with battery after giving people wedgies at a movie theater, grand theft for stealing stop signs, and disorderly conduct for jumping over cops at a picnic table.
Authorities are really getting sick of his nonsense.
According to Tom Knight, Sarasota County Sheriff during a press conference, “It’s one thing to make a scene in an attempt to become famous on YouTube, but it’s another to put people on edge by pretending to be an officer of the law. Given the tensions surrounding our line of work these days, this defendant has a clear lack of judgment and disrespect for our community and our profession.
[Charlie's} adolescent behavior is becoming old. It’s tying up our resources. It’s costing money. It’s costing the criminal justice system money to take care of these things. He’s doing more and more things to escalate his behavior and somebody’s going to get hurt.”
Hopefully, Ross has learned his lesson. But considering the amount of times he’s been arrested and his obsession with getting views and subscribers, we probably shouldn’t count on it.
Samantha Maffucci is an editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.