A determined thief, armed with a blowtorch, broke into a cellphone store at a Long Island strip mall Friday and made off with several devices -- the second time in less than a year the outlet has been burglarized.
Nassau County police are searching for the suspect who had to resort to kicking in the front door of the AT&T store in Hicksville because his blowtorch efforts failed. He stole an undetermined amount of cellphones, iPads and covers, authorities said.
The thief is seen at about 3 a.m. in a surveillance video using a blowtorch in attempt to cut his way into the store from a dark alley. He failed to break through, though he kept at it for about an hour.
"One hour of work and a blowtorch and he still couldn't get through this," said store owner Austin Fierstadt, pointing to the burn marks on a double-paneled door.
Failing to burn into the cellphone store, the suspect focused his blowtorch on the back door of the nail salon next door. He broke through and then attempted to burn through an inside wall into the AT&T store.
"I've never seen anyone try to break in with such aggression, Fierstadt told NBC 4 New York.
The AT&T store was burglarized in April of last year, but police captured the thief after Fierstadt tracked him with one of the items he stole. Fierstadt used the "Find My iPhone" app on one of the stolen phones to locate the thief and follow him. He alerted local police who nabbed the suspect at a roadblock.
Local
Fierstadt said the store has been burglarized four times over the years.
