Worker stops burglary with cell phone

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 24 (UPI) -- A Jacksonville, Fla., bike store employee said he pretended his cell phone was a gun to threaten a burglary suspect and then sat on the man until help arrived.

The Purcell's Motorcycle and Marine World employee said he spotted the suspect, identified by police as Hector Ivan Arroyo-Medina, attempting to drag a dirt bike through a hole that had been cut in the business' fence about 4 a.m. Tuesday, WKMG-TV, Orlando, Fla., reported.

The worker said he pointed his cell phone at the suspect.

"The low battery beeps a red light, and when I saw it I was thinking of one of those lasers. So, I got close to him and said, 'Freeze or I'll shoot you,'" the employee said.

He said he ordered the suspect to lie on the ground in the middle of the road and the employee sat on him until they were spotted by a Jacksonville Fire-Rescue vehicle.

"The firemen asked me because (the suspect) said I had a weapon and I had him pretty scared and they asked, 'Where is your weapon?' And I said, 'It's just a cell phone,' and they all started laughing. You could tell he was not very happy that a cell phone ended his reign," the employee said.

Arroyo-Medina was arrested and charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools. He was held in lieu of $30,000 bond in the Duval County Jail.