Masked men arrested for theater scare

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Police say two men donning clown masks were arrested for running through a Virginia Beach movie theater Monday evening.

According to Jimmy Barnes with the Virginia Beach Police Department, Blake Newton and Jamar K. Washington, Jr. were arrested following the incident at Regal Columbus Theaters on Constitution Drive. Police arrested Newton in the theater lobby. They chased down Washington and took him into custody down the street.

Both men were charged for wearing masks in public, a class 6 felony, as well as disorderly conduct for causing panic in a theater, a misdemeanor.

Washington was also charged with possession of marijuana, possession of a firearm while in possession of drugs and concealing a weapon while under the influence. Barnes says although Washington was not carrying a gun, the weapon he had falls within the state's code for possession of firearm. Washington says he was carrying a knife.

Watch Washington and Newton's full jailhouse interviews here.

"I honestly did not mean to scare anyone. I was not intending to hurt anyone," said Washington.

The men told WAVY.com Tuesday they bought the masks earlier in the day and had worn them all over town on trains and in malls and no one said a word to them.

"We just happened to frighten the wrong people and they called the police on us," explained Newton.

Police say what they did what not only insensitive after what happened in Colorado this summer. It's also a felony.

Washington and Newton appeared in court Tuesday and have a bond hearing at 8 a.m. Friday.