CBS4 Exclusive: Hoverboard Thieves Strike In Davie & Deerfield Beach
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DAVIE (CBSMiami) – They are one of the hottest items on the market – hoverboards. And they're not only popular with kids, they're also popular with thieves.
Justin, a 15-year-old boy whose parents asked that we not use his last name, was riding his brand new hoverboard after school on a sidewalk in Davie two days ago.
He said a young man started peppering him with questions about his cool hoverboard then stole it from him.
"The guy says to me, 'Do you sell those or can I buy one of those around here?'" Justin told CBS4's Carey Codd.
Seconds later, Justin said, that stranger's interest turned into a crime.
"He grabbed it out of my hands and threw it in his car and got away," Justin said.
Justin was heartbroken. He loved the board and he worked and saved $600 to buy it. But he kept things in perspective.
"It's just a board," he said. "I'm okay. He didn't have a gun. My family's okay."
Justin's not the only recent victim of a hoverboard theft.
Anthony Gotti, the president of Hoverstance at All Phones Pro in Deerfield Beach, is another victim.
Gotti showed CBS4 News exclusive surveillance video of four guys busting into the store overnight one night last week with a baseball bat. Cameras captured the thieves stealing as many as 30 hoverboards and other equipment worth nearly $25,000.
"They knew exactly where to go," Gotti said.
Gotti said it's because these hoverboards are a hot item.
"The supply versus the demand in this industry is unprecedented right now," Gotti said.
Gotti wants the people who stole his hoverboards caught – so does Justin.
"It felt very violated," Justin said. "I didn't think this could happen to a kid."
Justin said he learned a couple of valuable lessons that he hopes other kids learn: Try not to ride alone on your overboard and to remember that old adage of not talking to strangers.