Masked robber apologizes, then steals iPhones
Video shows suspect, robber in store on consecutive days.
A ma s k e d ma n a p o l o - g i z e d t o a B o o s t Mo b i l e store employee last month before robbing the store, Palm Beach Count y Sheriff ’s Office records state. Rick Anestal, 26, of Coconut Creek, i s a c c us e d of s teal i ng multiple i P h o n e 7 s t h e mor n - ing of March 31 from the phone store i n S a n d a l - foot Plaza west of Boca Raton. He reportedly walked into the store at about 10:30 that morning and approached an employee behind the counter.
“I’m sorry, but I am going to take a few phones and I am not gonna hurt you,” he reportedly told the woman.
T h e t a l l m a s k e d m a n a l l e g e d l y f o l l o w e d t h e e mploye e t o t h e b a c k o f the store and forced her to open a safe. He took several iPhones and placed them in a plastic bag.
He then tied the woman’s hands behind her back with clear packing tape and made her sit in a chair. She told officials she was afraid for her life so she followed his orders and waited until she heard him leave the store before moving.
A store manager noted a man matching the suspect’s description had come into the store the day before asking about iPhone 7s.
The employee told the man, who police say was Anestal, he qualified for an upgrade and could switch to an iPhone 7 for $574. He told the employee he would return with money for the new phone but never did.
Surveillance footage shows Anestal enter and exit the store March 30. Video also captured the masked man in the store the next day.
Records show that Anestal changed his phone number April 1 and activated one of the iPhones that was stolen the previous day.
Anestal was arrested April 11 on robbery and false imprisonment charges.
He i s being held in the Palm Beach County Jail on $50,000 bail.