A would-be routine iPhone theft went all action-movie on the evening of May 7, near the intersection of 25th Avenue and East Alder Street. The incident began, as many of this kind do, as one man approached another and asked to borrow his phone. The victim obliged, and, according to the police report, the suspect promptly took off towards a gold Acura where a man, a woman, and a “baby” (quotes in the original report) were waiting for him.
Though most theft reports end at this point, this victim decided to give chase, and as the alleged phone-thief jumped into the rear passenger seat of the car, the victim (a term no longer very appropriate for this ballsy guy) put him into “a head-lock style hold”. The determined iPhone-owner maintained his head-lock around the alleged thief, the report continues, as the car “continued northbound dragging him as he hung onto the suspect.” The victim managed to hold on even as he was struck in the face, all while yelling at the man to give him his phone back. As the car reached an estimated 40 miles per hour, the victim evidently decided his phone wasn’t worth dying over and released his grip, tumbling into the street. He sustained “lacerations to the upper back, lower back, arms and legs.”
Not ready to admit defeat, the report concludes, the tech-savvy phone-owner used the ‘Find My iPhone’ app and located the phone near Martin Luther King Way and East Alder Street. But before police could follow up on this information, the phone was turned off. Neither the suspect, vehicle, nor phone were found.