LYNDHURST, Ohio — Lyndhurst Police are asking for the public's help after a teenager was robbed at gunpoint near Brush High School earlier this month in broad daylight.
A surveillance camera caught the crime on video that happened just before 6 p.m. on March 18.
The video shows the suspects drive past the victim, park and put their flashers on waiting for the 16-year-old boy to get closer. Then someone in all black wearing a ski mask jumped out from the passenger side with a gun and demanded the teen's Canada Goose jacket, Beats headphones and an iPhone 15 Pro Max, a total value of roughly $2,600.
"I was just walking, listening to my music and then the dude pulled over they had a mask on he hopped out the car like, 'Give me everything,'" the teen told dispatchers in a 911 call released to 3News.
"He thought his friends were pulling up to talk to him, I think he was taken back a little bit, but he did the right thing in just giving the person his phone and his coat and his personal belongings," said Detective Lt. Michael Scipione, Lyndhurst Police Department. "There’s no point in getting hurt over losing physical personal effects."
The car used in the crime, a brown Buick LaCrosse, was reported stolen out of Cleveland. A Flock camera picked the car up minutes later and police began pursuing it. The car fled at speeds over 50 mph over the limit and police determined it was too dangerous to continue.
"Our officers are tasked with taking into account weather traffic, pedestrian traffic, time of day and the speeds reached over 75 mph on a 25 mph street, you weigh the dangers associated not just for the officers involved but for the public too," Scipione said.
The car escaped and the suspects are still at large.
Scipione said the teen did the right thing.
"Your life is more important than any piece of property you have on you at the time, just comply and let us after the fact figure out how to hold those persons responsible or accountable," Scipione said. "Seeing tomorrow is more important than arguing with someone over a passcode or a telephone."
Police are asking anyone with any information to contact the Lyndhurst Police Detective Bureau at (440) 442-1234.
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