ORLANDO, Fla. — The man filmed in a Florida brawl while dressed as the Easter Bunny was a wanted fugitive accused of burglarizing a car, according to law enforcement.
Antoine McDonald, 20, claims he was wearing the Easter Bunny costume when he saw a fight between a man and woman and got into the middle of it Sunday on Orange Avenue near the SAK Comedy Lab in Orlando.
"The guy was, I don't know if he was bullying her or what, so then I see him spit on her and she starts hitting him and everything," McDonald told CBS affiliate WKMG.
According to the local television station, he didn't know either person but wasn't going to tolerate disrespect toward a woman. An Orlando police officer eventually broke up the three-way brawl without arresting anyone.
McDonald told WKMG he's not a violent person. But, police say he has previously been linked to an armed robbery in Delaware. When he was 18, McDonald was charged with robbery, possession of a firearm during a felony, conspiracy and tampering with evidence. Last year, police in New Jersey issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with a separate car burglary.
Earlier this year, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office stopped McDonald, who investigators say was driving a U-Haul moving truck on a suspended license. In the report filed after that traffic stop, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office described him as "a person of interest in a carjacking and two (2) armed robberies."
When he was detained, a deputy said he was found with a fake Florida driver's license that listed the name "Hudhayfah Roberts." He was arrested for fraudulent use of personal identification. He was not held because his New Jersey warrant was "non-extraditable," according to law enforcement.
A Pasco County arrest report claims McDonald had been using the phony license to gamble at a casino in Hillsborough County and to rent cars. The Pasco County Sheriff's Office says he previously rented a Camaro from Tampa International Airport.
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