Don't Call This Ghostbuster: Ex-Member of Arizona Charity Exposed Himself to Females

A former member of the Arizona Ghostbusters was convicted last month for exposing himself to three workers at a local restaurant, Phoenix New Times has learned.

David Coblentz, 38, appears to have volunteered for the fan club and charity group up at least until his November 7 arrest, judging by photographs on the group's Facebook site. He's no longer listed as a team member on the group's website.

In April, Coblentz pleaded guilty in Phoenix municipal court to two misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure and was sentenced to three years of probation, with a six-month jail sentence suspended if he submits to sex offender treatment. As part of his plea deal, prosecutors dropped seven other counts of indecent exposure.

Arizona Ghostbusters is a registered nonprofit charity whose members appear at charity events, comics festivals, and parades with their fanciful — and often expensive — costumes and props based on the hit 1984 movie Ghostbusters. As a 2009 New Times article by Niki D'Andrea reported, the group was started in 2007 by Matt Haynes and a few fellow Arizonans who love the movie and dressing up.

Coblentz would wear Ghostbuster apparel and appear with other team members at various events, at least on one occasion posing for a photo with a child. He also helped make at least one video for the group.

On various days in August 2017, records show, a man who was later identified as Coblentz showed up to the Culver's restaurant at 1825 West Deer Valley Road and exposed his genitals to three female employees ranging in age from 15 to 20. The frazzled restaurant workers gave cops a description of the man and his car. (There's no mention of a Ghostbusters uniform.) Following an investigation that included two of the girls picking Coblentz in a photo lineup, police arrested him in November.

The 15-year-old employee told police that Coblentz's actions "scared" her. A a 16-year-old said the five times Coblentz exposed himself to her made her feel "awkward and anxious and had occurred too many times to be an accident."

The 20-year-old, who reported that Coblentz exposed himself three times to her, said Coblentz was "disturbing, weird, and it freaked me [out]."

Neither Coblentz or his lawyer, Adam Ashby, returned messages. Arizona Ghostbusters didn't return calls seeking comment.

Coblentz has a sentence review hearing scheduled for June 14 in city court.