A Florida man who was filmed intervening in a fight while dressed in an Easter bunny costume is wanted in New Jersey for a burglary that occurred last fall, according to reports.
Antoine McDonald, 20, told TMZ he was defending a woman against a man who had spit on her outside the Underground Public House bar in downtown Orlando. McDonald said he didn’t have time to take off his costume before he ran across the street and repeatedly punched the man several times before an officer is seen stepping in.
“Honestly, I thought I was being arrested,” he told Orlando Weekly. “After the fight, I didn’t want to leave, so I was just waiting for the cop to tell me, ‘Come here.’ [The man and the woman] were still trying to fight, so I thought I would have to hit him again if he tried to hit her.”
While TMZ reported that nobody got arrested in the Easter Sunday altercation, the Tampa Bay Times revealed that McDonald has a criminal record in at least three states—and has a warrant for his arrest in New Jersey.
The Times reported that McDonald was arrested in Delaware in early 2017 for committing two armed robberies with two others on New Year’s Day. South Brunswick Deputy Police Chief Jim Ryan said he was arrested in New Jersey in 2018 for harassing a man via social media and spitting at a 7-Eleven employee.
We are aware of the video showing Antoine McDonald. He had a warrant issued for him in October of 2018 for car burglaries in South Brunswick and failed to appear in court. His warrant remains active. pic.twitter.com/PbQ77s3iO3
— So Brunswick PD (@SoBrunswickPD) April 23, 2019
McDonald is reportedly wanted in New Jersey for a September 2018 incident in South Brunswick where he and an accomplice were allegedly filmed burglarizing a car. He’s said to have fled the state before authorities could arrest him.
With a warrant out for his arrest, McDonald was arrested in January in Pasco, Florida, for allegedly using a fake ID. The Times reported that he was under investigation for his possible role in a carjacking and two armed robberies but he hasn’t been charged for the crimes.
In an email to USA Today, South Brunswick police said they know McDonald’s location and are working with Florida authorities to determine whether extradition is feasible.
HOPPIN’ MAD: The Easter Bunny landed a few punches before an Orlando police officer stepped in and broke up this brawl: https://t.co/tZ1PJoQWlr pic.twitter.com/D5EZihnifZ
— WESH 2 News (@WESH) April 22, 2019
[Featured image: WTVJ video screengrab]
