BrickHouse Security Blog

In the history of lame attempts at crime, there are many that have made our hall of fame: the stick up robber, the dough boys, and now, the Stumbling Cell Phone Robber.

This criminal faux pas began with Brian Westerfield of Nampa, Idaho, enviously observing a man (whose identity wasn’t revealed) who had just recently purchased a smartphone from a local Walmart. Westerfield acted quickly, swiping the phone out of the man’s hands and promptly fleeing the scene.

Seeing as his brand new phone was getting away from him fast, the victim quickly called police (from someone else’s phone). They were able to track down Westerfield and get the phone back in no time.

But the irony here is how the police got the phone back. They simply called the number of the stolen smartphone, Westerfield answered, and they negotiated a price for which he was willing to sell his new phone.

Now if Westerfield went to criminal school, or wasn’t taking stupid pills, he would know that it isn’t a very good idea to answer the phone he had just stolen; let alone agree to meet up with the only person who would have the phone number.

But wait! The story gets even better…

When Westerfield finally agreed on the price of the phone and went the make the sale he was, of course, greeted by a bunch of police officers. Snap judgement—he tried making a run for it again. Unlike the original theft, however, this time Westerfield didn’t get far. And no, it wasn’t the police that stopped him—instead, he simply tripped and fell flat on his face. Smooth, we know…

Westerfield was arrested, and might be looking at five years in prison if convicted. Next time he shouldn’t steal people’s property; or at the very least, he should find his own customers to sell stolen merchandise to.

(Via Gizmodo) / (Image by hans.gerwitz, licensed under Creative Commons)