Man Charged With Stealing Cellphone From Courtroom Bench

MOUNT CLEMENS (CBS DETROIT/AP) — A cellphone left unattended on a courtroom bench proved too enticing a target for a suburban Detroit man appearing before the judge on another matter.

The Macomb County prosecutor's office says Friday that the man was waiting to be sentenced in June in Macomb Circuit Court for a 2017 traffic case when he saw the phone on the bench in front of him.

He sat down beside the phone, placed his hat atop it before sliding the phone into his pocket.

The phone's owner returned and asked a courtroom deputy for assistance when he saw it had been removed. The deputy reviewed the courtroom's video feed which recorded the theft.

The Eastpointe man is charged with larceny in a building in connection with the stolen phone.

© 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.