WATCH: Store clerk grabs robbery thief dangling from getaway car
08/21/2015 9:30 am PDT
A cellphone thief and his getaway driver who were caught on surveillance camera are now facing serious charges after nearly running over a store employee.
Surveillance video from inside a Santa Ana electronics store shows a man entering the store on Aug. 4 and approaching the counter, appearing to browse. The shopper handles a phone that the clerk shows him.
Suddenly, the "shopper" turns and runs out the door with the phone in hand.
Surveillance video from outside the store shows a getaway car backing up toward the front of the location.
The clerk runs out from behind the counter and chases the suspect out the door.
Surveillance video from out front shows the suspect dive head-first into the open passenger window of the getaway car. The clerk runs up and grabs the legs of the suspect dangling out of the window.
An SUV in the parking lot pulls forward, blocking the getaway car's exit. As the clerk tries to pull the suspect out of the car, the car gets around the SUV and drives away.
"Now these subjects are looking at robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, hit and run," Santa Ana Police Corporal Anthony Bertagna told KTLA-TV. "But more importantly, what could go seriously wrong when somebody's trying to drive this vehicle away at a high rate of speed -- if he's willing to ram into innocent victims, I'm sure they would have been willing to run over a pedestrian. There's a lot of things that could go wrong with things like this."
Police say the phone was worth about $200.
The suspect was wearing black pants, a black jacket and a black cap; he was also wearing distinctive shoes colored gray, black and pink. The driver was described as having long red curly hair.
SOURCE: KTLA-TV