Four employees from the Brooklyn district attorney's office didn't even have to wait for police to bring in an alleged criminal last Thursday -- they caught one in action on the subway.
The employees were coming out of the Jay Street subway station Thursday morning to head to a meeting when suddenly a "tall, thin young man pushes past me," prosecutor Dianne Malone recalled.
They heard a woman scream, "Catch him, he took my phone!" according to employee Bobby Xue.
Malone went after the thief through the crowd, and several good Samaritans grabbed the suspected thief and returned the victim's phone.
But when Malone noticed the accused teen was about to make a run for it, the prosecutor went from attorney to arresting officer.
"The young man started to leave and I grabbed his wrists, and I said 'you're coming with me, you're not leaving. Walk up the steps,'" said Malone.
Malone told the teen to stay in place and to keep his hands on the railing. The suspected cell phone thief stayed put until police arrived.
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"With that, I left to go to work and was late to my meeting," said Malone, smiling.
The alleged cell phone thief was charged with grand larceny and released without bail Friday.
