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Thief Throws Scissors At Employee, Gets Away With 3 Cell Phones

PLANTATION (CBSMiami) - Plantation police are looking for a brazen cell phone thief who held up a T Mobile store last Tuesday.

Surveillance captured the crime from beginning to end.

The man walked into the store located at 7177 W. Broward Boulevard at 5 pm.  While inside the store the suspect is seen using scissors to cut the security cord anchoring the cell phones to a display wall.

When a manager tries to stop him, they get into a scuffle.  At that point the robber is seen flashing the scissors at the manager.

The suspect runs out of the store with three cell phones.

CLICK HERE to watch Joan Murray's report

"I'm sure he wanted to do it without being seen.  But someone was bound to see him cutting with a pair of scissors," said Plantation Police Detective Phil Toman.

The suspect is described as between 23-35 years of age, weighing 200 pounds and wearing a black shirt, long black shorts, black and silver Jordan shoes, red sunglasses and sporting a beard.

The manager identified as Alex Jaghai wasn't hurt.

CBS4 spoke to his grandfather, Henry Jaghai who describes his grandson as mild-mannered.  "Suppose the man damaged him.  Suppose he had a gun," said Henry Jaghai,  "The person could have hurt him, but he's not a fighter, no trouble at all."  Still Jaghai says as a manager, his grandson had to defend the store.  "People can't come in and take what they fell like.  He has a right to fight back."

Cell phone theft is a big problem in South Florida, with thieves going to extreme lengths to steal them.

In recent months, groups of thieves have been captured on surveillance using vehicles to ram into stores and grab merchandise.

"They are popular to sell.  There are a lot of burglaries at cell phone stores, a lot of thefts," says Toman.

Customers wonder when it will end.

"They are expensive and everybody wants new ones.  You have to have a lot of security at all the stores," observed customer Sandra Lopez.

"Most of the time they are trying to sell then back. But it's dangerous. Know one knows what they are coming in to do," added customer Jordan Dextra.

If you have any information on this robbery call Broward County Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS.

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