A trip to Kings Island came to a jarring halt for one rider last week, when Mason police say a West Chester Township man was pulled off an attraction and arrested after an underage Culver’s drive-thru worker reported he pointed a gun at her.
The worker was described as visibly distressed, and the restaurant was evacuated while officers searched the building. At the park, guests on the ride were briefly delayed while officers moved in and took the suspect into custody.
According to FOX19, Mason police were called to the Culver’s on Tylersville Road shortly after 6:30 p.m. last Monday after employees reported that a man had “pulled a gun” in the drive-thru lane. Officers traced a gray 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix to the Kings Island parking lot by 6:49 p.m. and found it unoccupied, according to the incident report.
Arrest On A Ride And Park Response
Park staff helped officers track the suspect to a ride inside Kings Island, where Mason police and Warren County deputies surrounded the attraction before approaching him. They made contact while he was on the ride and handcuffed him behind his back, according to the police report.
“The staff member was visibly distraught and believed Harris was going to shoot her,” officers wrote in the redacted incident report, as reported by FOX19.
Kings Island briefly paused the ride while officers and park security spoke with the suspect and a second person. Once the situation was under control and the man was taken into custody, the park resumed normal operations.
Court Docket And Conditions
Court records identify the suspect as 26-year-old Caleb Arnez Harris of West Chester Township. He pleaded not guilty in Mason Municipal Court and was booked into the Warren County jail.
The court set bond at 10 percent of 25,000 dollars, or 2,500 dollars, and ordered Harris to wear an electronic monitoring device if released. He was also ordered to stay away from the alleged victim, from Culver’s, and from Kings Island, according to the Mason Municipal Court. Harris is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on July 2.
Park Rules And Safety
Kings Island’s posted rules say guests are not allowed to bring firearms or any items that could be considered weapons into the park. Bags are subject to metal detection and search at the entrance.
The park’s website also notes that items that could be considered weapons “should be left at home or secured in your vehicle,” according to Kings Island's website.
Legal Context
Under Ohio law, aggravated menacing, which is the charge Harris faces, is defined as knowingly causing another person to believe that the offender will cause serious physical harm. It is typically prosecuted as a first-degree misdemeanor.
Inducing panic covers actions that cause evacuations, serious public inconvenience, or alarm, and it can be charged as a misdemeanor or elevated to a felony depending on the harm and circumstances. See Ohio Revised Code sections 2903.21 and 2917.31 for statutory details.
Mason police and the Warren County prosecutor’s office say the case remains under investigation and have not released additional information. Harris is expected to return to court as scheduled while that investigation continues.
