SYRACUSE, N.Y. - A downtown video game store owner hit by a burglary Monday used some detective work to track down the guy hawking the stolen loot.

The owner, Mike Saltzman, and the person who spotted the crook's ad on Craigslist made a plan: Pretending to want to buy one of the stolen video game systems, they arranged to meet the suspect at the Destiny USA food court Tuesday.

When the store owner confronted the suspect, it led to a chase through the mall and a takedown just outside the food court.

"Call the police! This guy is a thief!" Saltzman recalled shouting repeatedly as they held the man on the ground.

The guy got away, but not before the amateur detectives got him on video.

The episode unfolded like this:

Saltzman said a thief bashed in the door at Voltage Video Games at 212 E. Jefferson St. around 12:30 a.m. Monday. He stole a Sony PlayStation 3 Super Slim and two Xbox Ones, worth about $1,000.

The crime was recorded by the store's surveillance cameras, which was updated with two new motion detectors last week in response to recent downtown crimes.

After filing a police report, Saltzman said, he realized it would be easy to trace the consoles through local pawn shops and video game stores. The thief forgot to take cords, controllers and power bricks.

So he posted a description of the crime to the store's Facebook page and offered a $500 reward for information leading to the conviction of the burglar.

Within the same day, Jarett Catalano, who had seen the Facebook post, found a man selling suspicious items on Craigslist.

Catalano and Saltzman decided to meet with the seller in front of the Wendy's at Destiny USA. They knew the merchandise would be easy to identify because the store uses unique warranty stickers and the consoles had distinguishing marks.

Saltzman said the Syracuse Police Department told him he'd have to wait for the detective handling the case to meet with him about the lead. The detective was not on duty until after they'd arranged to meet the seller and could not be contacted before the meeting, Saltzman said.

He said he told mall security what they planned to do.

"We wanted people to be there to make sure nothing bad happened," he said

Catalano met the man first and then was joined by Saltzman, who was watching from about 30 feet away.

He said they saw the store's warranty sticker on the Xbox One, which was missing the power pack.

"I work at Voltage Video Games. Have you heard of it?" Saltzman asked.

He said the man became nervous, started stuttering and offered three different reasons for why he had the console.

"Come with me and I can explain it all," he told the pair, leading them away from the food court and toward the Game Stop, saying a store clerk could find a receipt.

Saltzman pulled his phone out to record the encounter.

That's when he said the man yanked Saltzman's phone away and started running with it. The pair were able to tackle and tried holding him down.

"I had to pry it (the phone) out of his hand," he said.

A small group gathered around them, catching the attention of mall security, who told Saltzman and Catalano they could not restrain the man while they waited for police.

The thief then walked away, began jogging and sprinted out the mall doors, Saltzman said.

Mall security and police officers, who arrived afterward, were unable to catch him.

Saltzman said it was frustrating to watch the guy get away, but he got one of the consoles back and had another victory.

"I got a really good photo of him, and he didn't get my phone," Saltzman said.

Police said the burglary is under investigation and they could not confirm whether the man Saltzman met at the mall is the same person who broke into the store.

Police are asking anyone with information to call 442-5222 and refer to the case by its number, 15-159449.