Thieves steal $26K in electronics from Rowlett store

ROWLETT, Texas - Rowlett police are hoping to catch an armed man responsible for robbing a cell phone store of expensive smartphones and tablets. They are investigating if the same person is linked to a robbery in Dallas.

The Verizon store now has a security guard monitoring it after it was hit by armed robbers twice in one month. The first robber is behind bars, but the other is still on the run.

Rowlett police hope someone will recognize the robber in surveillance video from May 18. He can be seen in a white shirt with a cap on. At first, he acts like a customer. After he gets comfortable about his surroundings, he pulls out a gun.

The employee calmly complies, going to lock the door and then he goes to the back of the store where the robber takes off with $26,000 worth of smartphones and tablets.

Police say they can track the smartphones and tablets once they're turned on, but it's challenging because they will have changed hands several times by then.

“Right now, we're not sure where the suspects are getting rid of the stolen property,” said Rowlett Police Det. Cruz Hernandez. “But there is a market for it, common for these cell phone stores to be robbed. Back in the day, they would do burglaries. But as they harden the target, they began to come in and rob during the daytime."

Rowlett police released a sketch of the suspect. They believe his description is similar to the man Dallas police are looking for in a similar robbery.

Dallas police say around 11:00 am on Wednesday, a man wearing a cap and sunglasses robbed a Sprint store on Oaklawn Avenue at gunpoint.

Police say people should be wary of buying technology from people they don't know without a physical address since it could turn out to be stolen.