Cops: Man finds cell phone and demands owner pay $300 for it back
Police arrested a school safety officer, saying he demanded $300 from a woman after finding her cell phone. The 30-year-old man, who works at Lawrence High School in Massachusetts, was charged with theft of lost mislaid property Saturday.
Police said the woman lost the phone at a Wal-Mart. The man found it and first told her she’d have to pay him $200 if she wanted it back. Police said he later upped the price to $300.
The woman called police, who set up a sting operation. The man was arrested after he met the woman at a race track parking lot. She gave the man an envelope containing $21.
After he was arrested, the man told police he was embarrassed and had made a mistake. He faces arraignment in Salem District Court next month.
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