Man Arrested For Robbing Phone Repair Store With Cardboard Box On His Head

The suspect has been identified as 33-year-old Claude Vincent Griffin, and he has since been charged with grand theft, burglary, criminal mischief, cocaine possession, and resisting an officer without violence.

On Saturday (June 3), Griffin was arrested after being spotted on camera around 4 a.m. inside of a phone repair store called iRepair Tech Cell Phone Repair, which is located at 4500 Northwest 183rd Street in Miami Gardens.

On the video surveillance captured from inside the store, the suspect is seen smashing glass displays and snatching phones, all while sporting a white and brown cardboard box on his head.

The owner of the phone repair store, Jeremias Berganza, said despite the man having the cardboard box loosely sitting on his head during the robbery, he was able to catch a quick glimpse at the man’s face when the robber lifted the box from his face. His identity was revealed just for a moment as he tried to get a good look at the merchandise he was stealing.

With the collected footage and image of the robber’s face, Berganza set out on his own investigation, and went around the shopping plaza asking others in the area to keep an eye out and alert him if they spotted the robber anywhere in the area.

Eventually, someone saw the man at a liquor store near the same plaza he had stolen from. He was spotted drinking alongside some friends. When Berganza was alerted of the suspect’s whereabouts, he called the Miami Gardens Police Department, and officers came to arrest the thief.