California Man Arrested After Leaving 'Human Skin' Teddy Bear Outside a Convenience Store in Prank Gone Wrong

A California man was arrested after a prank that went very wrong. He claimed to have left a "human skin teddy bear" outside of a convenience store on Sunday, July 13, 2025. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department was called to the scene to investigate the teddy bear.

California man arrested after claiming to leave a human skin teddy bear outside a convenience store

'Human Skin Teddy Bear' was a 'Macabre Prank' Outside Convenience Store

ABC7 News reported that a California man left a "human skin teddy bear" outside of an AMPM convenience store on Bear Valley Road in Victorville on Sunday, July 13, 2025. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department was called to the scene to investigate the strange teddy bear that was left on the ground outside the convenience store.

A zoomed-in image of the bear can be seen below.

Human skin teddy bear outside Victorville convenience store

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department: 'No Human Remains' Found on Teddy Bear

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department determined that there was not actually any "human remains" or "human skin" on the teddy bear. The claim was utterly false, and the police arrested 23-year-old Hector Corona Villanueva, and booked him for a report of an emergency while knowing that it was intentionally false and for planting evidence under the pretense that it was real. 

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department issued a statement about this incident, stating:

"Incidents such as this take up valuable emergency resources and put the public at risk, possibly delaying response time to legitimate calls for service. We would like to thank those that reported information that was helpful during the investigation of this case."

What was the 'Human Skin' Teddy Bear covered with?

The teddy bear was not made out of human skin. It was made out of latex.

ABC7 Eyewitness News spoke to Robert Kelly of Dark Seed Creations, an artist from South Carolina, who said that he made the teddy bear, and it was not made out of human skin, but out of latex. He confirmed that he did ship one of the bears he made out of latex to Victorville. He assumed it was just a routine order; however, he started to receive many calls when fans of his work started calling him on Sunday after recognizing one of his bears.

Kelly said:

"I guess I'd probably be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it a little bit. You know, I'm an independent artist, so you know, I know what starving artist life feels like. So, a little attention is sometimes good regardless of not being able to condone whatever. I mean, I don't know if the guy broke any laws or it was just a prank, but it looks like he definitely got some people riled up." -Robert Kelly, Dark Seed Creations artist

His human skin teddy bear normally retails for $165 on his Etsy website. 

As of the date of publication, the human skin teddy bear was sold out.

Another True Story about a Teddy Bear Containing Ashes

An Alabama woman was driving around and saw a teddy bear on a garbage pile. She stops and grabs it to bring it home to her dog as a chew toy. When she and her daughter get home, they discover the teddy bear has ashes inside of it along with a secret note.

Read the full story here.

Rip Off: Customer Learns She Paid a $77 Convenience Upcharge After Ordering LobLaws Groceries Using Instacart Delivery Service

An Instacart customer orders groceries from Loblaws and finds out the reality of using a delivery service versus going to the grocery store herself. She posted the cold reality in a TikTok video after discovering her delivery driver accidentally left the real grocery receipt in her bag.

credit: @sophiakokolakis on TikTok 

Sophia Kokolakis found out that she is paying way more to order her groceries through Instacart and have them delivered, thanks to the upcharge, and that doesn't even include the tip.

She posted a video to TikTok on 29 September 2023 after she received her groceries from Instacart, and the reality sets in that she just got ripped off.

TikTok Video: Instacart is Making Serious Money with Upcharge for Convenience

In the TikTok video, she says:

"This is honestly the first time that an Instacart delivery person has left the receipt in the bag and my total was $221 and I paid $298 on Instacart...from Loblaws. Damn." -Sophia Kokolakis

She paid about $77 more to Instacart for the convenience.

The video can be seen below.

TikTok video credit: @sophiakokolakis on TikTok 

Comments on the Video

Users weigh in on the video Sophia posted to TikTok. Here's what they said:

• User 'Cat Officially Cat' says, "That's the price of convenience."

• User 'TikTokMadeMeSayThat' gives a free tip, saying, "just order through Loblaws website itself. They use DoorDash to deliver and you don't pay any upcharges." (word 'upcharges' corrected in comment)
• User 'John C' says, "It clearly tells you on the app whether or not you're going to pay in-store prices or not, depending on what store you choose."
• User 'Wiara953 says, "I put stuff in my Instacart from Aldi's and went to the store myself and checked the prices. They tax the stuff like crazy."

Kate Witmer (Instacart shopper) said:

"As an Instacart shopper, I get sticker shock when I see the price the customer is paying vs. what the store is actually charging."

Jenny (Instacart shopper) said:

"We're supposed to keep the receipt for 30 days per our contract. The price mark up is insane though. Instacart makes money on every item you buy."

Mia (Instacart shopper) said:

"Do you live in the states? In Canada, we have to leave the receipt."

Boopie Jones (former Instacart shopper) said:

"During the brief moment I shopped for them is when I realized they were scamming customers & underpaying shoppers. Def left the receipt in their bag."

Readers, it's time for you to share your thoughts on the subject:

Do you think that customers would tip less or stop using the service if they found out how much Instacart is charging people for convenience?