Boy’s Online Disney Photos Draw Charges

A 16-year-old computer buff and Disneyland fan known online as “Ebola Man” faces theft and vandalism charges after using his Internet site to post pictures of property stolen from the Anaheim park, police said Thursday.

The youth, who lives in Orange, put up a photo-illustrated account of a break-in at the private Club 33 in Disneyland’s New Orleans Square area, the only place in the park that serves alcoholic drinks. Also included were advice on how to shut down some rides, and photos of documents taken from the park.

Among the documents were technical drawings for a McDonald’s French fries food cart that opened recently in the park as part of a joint marketing agreement with the Walt Disney Co.

The cart, unpopular with some park aficionados, was vandalized in a late-night attack in December. The damage, caused by someone slinging brown paint, was described in an Ebola Man posting on an Internet chat site the next morning.

Anaheim Police Sgt. Joe Vargas said the youth, whom The Times is not naming because he is a minor, was booked and released last month on felony charges of grand theft and receiving stolen property. He also is under investigation in connection with the vandalism, Vargas said Thursday.

“There were a lot of coincidental comments on the Web that it seems would be known only to someone involved in the malicious mischief,” he said.

Vargas said police want to question another youth they believe was an accomplice. Meanwhile, he said, “the Web site has been shut down at the request of the suspect’s parents.”

Ebola Man was well-known among Disneyland fans who trade gossip on the Internet. They speculated he worked at the park because of his detailed knowledge of it.

Al Lutz, who maintains the Disneyland Information Guide site on the Internet, praised the technical expertise displayed at Ebola Man’s site but deplored the use of the Internet to promote alleged illegal behavior.

“The fact he would show the stuff he stole was just stupidity incarnate,” Lutz said. “It was just insane. But I guess he’s just a kid.”

Disneyland spokesman Ray Gomez said company officials had alerted Anaheim police to the Ebola Man site on the Internet and had cooperated with the investigation.

Detectives located the youth by serving search warrants on Internet service providers that had hosted his site, Vargas said.

Detectives from an economic crimes unit then raided the youth’s home, confiscating his computer and allegedly stolen property.

Vargas said police took the incident seriously because threats had been posted on the Internet. “It’s just amazing how a very bright kid can be so mischievous,” he said. “And it’s my understanding the parents were totally unaware of what he was doing with his computer.”

Gary Birch, founder of the Anaheim Hills multimedia company Statmedia, said he became a mentor to the youngster four years ago. The youth has always exhibited a singular flair for computers, Birch said.

“I think and I hope that this is a chance for him to reevaluate his direction,” Birch said.