Paige Austin, Patch, May 18, 2017

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According to police, the man walked into a Boost Mobile store in the 19700 block of Vanowen Street, near Corbin Avenue shortly after noon Tuesday. He asked a clerk to show him new iPhones, and when the clerk refused to bring out the new phones and instead directed him to the tethered display phones, the suspect, who is black, accused the employee of being racist, police said.

“Fearing being labeled a racist, the salesperson presented the new iPhones to the suspect,” according to and LAPD statement. “Once the phones were in his reach, the suspect grabbed the phones and fled the business.”

Less than three hours later, the suspect did it again in Oxnard, making off with Apple and Samsung Galaxy S8 phones, according to the LAPD.

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