NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A North Miami Beach business owner has been left reeling, after a thief smashed his way into his Boost Mobile store and took off with nearly 20 cellphones.
George Mohama was in for a rude awakening Sunday morning when he discovered a thief had broken into his store near Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 137th Street.
“I’m extremely upset,” he said.
Mohama said the pricey theft took place at around 2:45 a.m. and was over in less than a minute.
“He was in and out,” he said.
The business owner said the thief broke in by throwing a brick through the front window. He then made his way to where the merchandise was stored.
A surveillance camera captured the perpetrator as he stopped at a display case. Mohama said he sprinted to the back office when he realized those were dummy phones.
Another camera caught the thief putting phone after phone in a bag before running away.
“He took three or four iPhone 6es, two iPhones 6S, two iPhone 8s, a couple of Samsung J7s, four Motorola Es and couple of LG phones,” said Mohama.
The business owner, who has only been at this North Miami Beach location three months, said the burglar stole almost $8,000 in merchandise, but there’s not much he’ll be able to do with the phones.
“Those phones are basically paper weight … They’ve been reported to the police with their serial number,” he said. “All the pawn shops have been informed, all the other carriers have been informed, so he can’t do anything with the phones.”
The break-in left Mohama thousands of dollars in debt and with a big mess to clean up.
“It takes a long time for us to recoup all these phones that were stolen and the time to get the door fixed,” he said.
Monday afternoon, 7News cameras showed the front door of the store had been replaced.
Now, as police investigate this cellphone heist, the business owner is hoping clear surveillance video will help police find this crook and put an end to his crime spree.
“I just want people to understand it’s dumb,” he said. “Don’t risk your freedom for paper weight. Basically, those phones, you can’t sell them, you can’t take them to a pawn shop, you can’t activate them anywhere else, so don’t do this. It’s dumb.”
If you have any information on this burglary, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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