Police seek 2 men accused of stealing cellphones worth $45,000 from Briarwood Mall
Police are seeking two California men accused of stealing $45,000 worth of cellphones from a Verizon kiosk at Ann Arbor's Briarwood Mall in April.
Warrants were issued earlier this month for a 22-year-old Torrance, Calif. man and a 32-year-old Los Angeles, Calif., man. They each face two counts of larceny, $20,000 or more.
The men are suspected in similar types of smartphone heists in suburban Milwaukee, Wis., and Rockford, Ill., Ann Arbor police said.
On April 14, police were dispatched to Briarwood Mall at 10:12 a.m. after employees of the Verizon kiosk called to report a break-in, Lt. Renee Bush of the Ann Arbor Police Department confirmed.
“(The suspects) walked in and forced open the cabinets,” she said.
Police believe the two men struck early in the morning, around 7 or 8 a.m., when most stores are closed, but the mall is open to people who walk for exercise. The men acted like they worked there, said police. Much of the incident was caught on security video.
Eighty-four cell and smartphones were missing with a value of about $45,000, Bush said.
The men fled the Ann Arbor area, but were later identified via a collaboration between Ann Arbor police and federal authorities. Police did not want to go into details about how the men were identified as it may hamper the ongoing cases, including three in the Milwaukee area and one in Rockford, they said. The men may be involved in an overseas smartphone fencing operation, police said.
Arrest warrants for the two men were filed with the Washtenaw County Trial Court on Oct. 1. AnnArbor.com is not publishing the suspects' names at this point because they have not been captured or arraigned on the charges.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
15crown00
Sun, Oct 21, 2012 : 12:43 p.m.
so they sell them for fifty cents on the dollar and disappear into the vast population of Cally,making a huge profit.
Zhuk
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 8:18 p.m.
I think It would be nice if all those Kiosks were removed from the mall. They make the mall seem trashy, many of the kiosk employees are rude/annoying to people trying to ignore their attempts to sell garbage, and did I mention all the garbage they sell?
sheeple
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 2:28 p.m.
Why do perps' faces on a security camera always look like a frame grab from a 1920s Buster Keaton movie? Don't we have better cameras now?
brian
Tue, Oct 16, 2012 : 3:23 a.m.
Anyone remember Hot Sam's at Briarwood Mall or Ferell's Ice cream?
jackson west
Mon, Oct 15, 2012 : 9:03 p.m.
I'm suprised they did not target Wetzel's Pretzels. Those are some delicious pretzels.
Goober
Mon, Oct 15, 2012 : 8:40 p.m.
Smile! You're on Candid Camera.
treetowncartel
Mon, Oct 15, 2012 : 9:10 p.m.
I'm thinking these guys didn't watch enough Andy Griffith growing up.
cinnabar7071
Mon, Oct 15, 2012 : 8:35 p.m.
I'm so glad I don't need a cell phone.
Goodphotographer
Mon, Oct 15, 2012 : 8:08 p.m.
The price of mins just went up.
John of Saline
Mon, Oct 15, 2012 : 7:49 p.m.
"Can you hear me now?"