Attempted Chain Robbery Caught On Camera
FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Broward Sheriff's Office investigators are looking for a man who tried to steal a gold chain from off the neck of a man in Pompano Beach at a drug store.
On Monday, BSO released surveillance video of the attempted robbery.
The victim, Sandy Kobler, 58, was not hurt.
"This fella must have really been desperate or have a lot of nerve at four in the afternoon on a main street in front of Walgreens in daylight, to try to steal my chain," Kobler told CBS 4's Lauren Pastrana.
Kobler still wears the chain that was almost ripped off his neck.
"At first I did not realize what was going on," he said about his July 29th ordeal.
Surveillance video showed a man getting out of a car outside the Walgreens store on East Atlantic Blvd. in Pompano Beach.
Meanwhile inside, Kobler was reading the newspaper right by the entrance.
The man walked into the store, glanced in Kobler's direction, and then moved out of frame.
A few moments later, he headed back to the door.
But before walking out, he reached around the security sensor and yanked at Kobler's gold necklance.
The two men struggled for a few seconds before another customer tried to intervene.
"Then he took off a few feet, pulled his shirt up, it looked like he had a gun there, and he said don't follow me," Kobler said.
Broward Sheriff's Office deputies arrived within minutes.
"This is an opportunistic criminal," BSO Spokeswoman Gina Carter said. "He just saw something that looked easy."
"Hopefully they can take him off the street so he doesn't do it to anybody else," Kobler said.
Kobler said he's been wearing the chain for 30 years, and has no plans to take it off anytime soon.
"I must say, I'm a little more cautious now or I'm conscious that I have the chain on," Kobler explained. "Before I didn't even think about it."
The victim said he managed to see the license plate for the car, but was told the owner did not match the person who tried to rob him.
If you recognize the man in the surveillance video, call Broward Crimestoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477).
