Florida Man Stops and Detains Burglar Just by Holding His iPhone Like a Gun

A Florida man stopped a suspected vehicle burglary and held the alleged thief until police arrived by holding his iPhone like a gun.

The incident occurred last Monday night in Miami Beach, Florida. The Florida man, who asked to remain anonymous, said his wife saw somebody going through their car outside of their home, according to local news outlet WSVN.

“I immediately called 911, and while talking to the police, I came outside,” the man said.

“I pointed the phone at him and I said, ‘Lay down.’ I start screaming, ‘What are you doing there?’ And he tried to come towards me, and I said, ‘Stay there.’”

All in all, the man said the incident lasted around five to six minutes. During the time, he yelled at the burglar and told him to get on the ground while he was on the phone with authorities.

“Face down, and I said, ‘Put your hands behind your back,’” the Florida man recalled. “He put his hands on his back and I was talking to the police.”

The Florida man said that his iPhone served a double purpose during the incident — it allowed him to contact police, but it also somehow kept the alleged burglar at bay until they arrived.

“The phone is black, so just pointing at him, it’s just like a weapon,” the Florida man said. When police arrived, the man said they only said one thing to him: “Good job.”

While the man was able to defend his property using nothing but a smartphone, he told WSVN that it isn’t about being a vigilante. His home’s various security measures, including a guard dog and security cameras, are “just to defend your property and nothing else.”

Earlier this year, the Florida man’s sedan had been broken into but it isn’t clear if that was connected to the most recent crime. The Mercedes sedan was reportedly unlocked during the night of the incident.

The alleged burglar, later identified as 27-year-old Sheldon Johnson, had been arrested in the past for pretty theft, burglary and robbery. Police said he was wanted under a different name for attempted grand theft auto and resisting arrest without violence.