BSO Searching For Pompano Beach Radio Shack Robbers
POMPANO BEACH (CBS4) - The Broward Sheriff's Office released surveillance video Thursday showing an armed robbery at a Pompano Beach Radio Shack.
Three masked men armed with an automatic weapon barged in to the store at 167 S. Pompano Parkway on December 30th, detectives said.
Several customers and employees were in the store at the time.
They dropped to the floor and several people tried crawling away from the robbers.
Surveillance video showed the men as they forced people in to a storage room at the back of the store.
"They reacted well," Det. Vince Coldwell said. "They did what they needed to do to get out of the situation safely and calmly. They did what the suspect's asked them to do."
Once the shoppers are out of the camera's frame, the bad guys got to work.
In the video, one man is seen removing a large bag from his pants. The thieves then start to fill the bag with merchandise.
"What was targeted were high-end cell phones. Galaxy S3 from Samsung and the iPhone 5," Det. Coldwell explained.
Surveillance cameras were also rolling outside as the men made their getaway. Two of the crooks run out of frame, while the third stops and opens the door of a nearby car. He shuts it, then runs off.
"That was not the getaway car. That belongs to the business next to it," Det. Coldwell said. "But if he's that close to mixing up the business next door's vehicle with the getaway vehicle, they're probably similar vehicles."
Investigators did not give a description of the car.
The same Radio Shack was robbed in August. Det. Coldwell said they made an arrest in an earlier robbery case at the same shop.
He said crimes like these are happening more frequently.
"We're following a trend right now of electronics stores being hit for high end merchandise, merchandise that's just coming out on the market," Coldwell said.
Coldwell explained the high street value of smart phones makes them attractive to criminals.
Investigators said one of the men was wearing a dark grey letterman jacket with the letter "M" on it. Otherwise, they were wearing dark clothing and masks.
Anyone with information about the robbery should contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. You can remain anonymous.
