A New Jersey man wearing an Elf on the Shelf costume had his nightly journey to the North Pole rudely interrupted Friday evening by police officers who found his parked vehicle to be more than a little suspicious.
Brian Chellis, 23, was allegedly found passed out behind the wheel — dressed as one of Santa’s scout elves — with the engine running, lights on, and music blaring. Reports NJ.com:
After shutting off the car’s engine and waking Chellis, the sergeant detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, the lieutenant said.
Harden further observed that Chellis seemed confused over his whereabouts and had an open can of beer inside of the car, Macintosh said.
After failing field sobriety tests, Chellis was hauled off to police headquarters. Which is a shame. Everyone knows you’re not supposed to touch a scout elf — it causes them to lose their magic!
Chellis was issued summonses for driving while intoxicated, careless driving, and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, and will appear in court on January 6.
Let’s hope police wrote a letter to Santa apologizing for touching Chellis and sprinkled a pinch of cinnamon next to the drunk tank. It’s the only surefire way to help a scout elf regain its lost Christmas magic.