Crime & Safety
Robber Would Have Rather Snagged an iPhone
Purse snatcher asks victim if she owns an iPhone, according to Manassas City Police.
Officers are searching for a robbery suspect who had his eyes set on a fancy new phone, according to a Manassas City Police report.
At 10:35 p.m. Wednesday, officers responded to a home in the 10300 block of Leighton Place. The victim told police that she was walking to her front door when an unknown man came up from behind her. He allegedly grabbed her arm and stole her purse.
The suspect asked the victim if she had an iPhone. When she told him she didn't, the suspect then took the purse and fled on foot.
Police describe the suspect as a Black male in his early 20s, wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt with the hood over his head and brown shorts.
The victim had minor scratches as a result of the confrontation, according to police.Even if he'd found a new phone in the robbery, the robber would have likely been disappointed. Last fall, Apple developed a "kill switch" able to disable stolen phones.
Police said iPhone robberies in San Francisco dropped 38 percent after the kill switch went into use, according to The New York Times. Thefts fell 24 percent in London.
This week, Google and Microsoft announced they were also adding the kill switch to new phone models.
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