Dingus Dressed as Mime Arrested After Real Creepy Encounters

A man known for walking around a Massachusetts trail dressed in an elaborate mime costume has been arrested after police said there was a warrant for him on criminal harassment charges.

Massachusetts State Police arrested 29-year-old Hernan Asael Villagran Lux on Sunday while he was walking along the Cochituate Rail Trail near the Framingham-Natick line.

Villagran Lux is facing three counts of criminal harassment. He was arraigned Monday in Framingham District Court and has pleaded not guilty.

People who regularly use the trail said they had spotted him in the area several times before his arrest.

“I’ve seen this person walk by,” resident Dalia Stuart said. “In fact, I’ve seen this person walk on the main street, and I’ve always asked myself, like, ‘Why is he dressed like that?’”

Another trail user, Tracy Qiu, estimated she had seen him about five times.

Chris Neofotistos described an encounter in which the man passed him while wearing a top hat, dark facial makeup, a black cape and carrying a cane.

“Kind of freaked me out a bit,” Neofotistos said. “Real creepy.”

Qiu said the man’s behavior became especially concerning when she saw him standing away from the trail near bushes and water as the sun was going down.

“He was just kind of off the path, kind of stumbling around the bushes by himself,” she said. “And that was when it was starting to get a little darker, so I got a little spooked.”

Authorities have not publicly detailed the specific allegations connected to the three harassment charges.

For people who frequently walk the trail alone, news of the arrest brought a sense of relief.

“I get a little shaken up, thinking that I walk this trail every day, by myself,” Stuart said. “It’s concerning.”