SHARE

Video: Watch As Mom Has Son Steal Cellphone From Saddle Brook Restaurant

SADDLE BROOK, N.J. -- Video obtained by Daily Voice shows a family taking a cellphone dropped by another family at a Saddle Brook restaurant.

Watch as mom instructs boy to grab dropped cellphone.

Photo Credit: COURTESY: Saddle Brook PD
Saddle Brook police say this is a still image taken from video of suspect family.

Saddle Brook police say this is a still image taken from video of suspect family.

Photo Credit: COURTESY: Saddle Brook PD

UPDATE: Surveillance video released by Saddle Brook police of a woman instructing her young son to steal a cellphone that was dropped on the floor of a local restaurant led to her arrest Friday, authorities told Daily Voice. READ MORE....

The victims were waiting to be seated at the Hibachi Grill and Buffet on Route 46 around 6 p.m. Sunday when the son, without realizing it, dropped his father's Galaxy 4 mini smartphone, Police Chief Robert Kugler said Monday evening.

The $600 phone was in a black OtterBox case worth $100, he said.

Soon after the phone hits the floor, another family heads toward the exit.

"The woman motions to the kid, who picks up the phone -- and out the door they went," Kugler told Daily Voice. The youngster even looks back to see whether he was noticed as he rushes out the door.

The chief described him as 11 to 13 years old and wearing a yellow/blue jacket and blue jeans.

The older woman was Hispanic, 20 to 30, about 5-foot-1 to 5-foot-2 and wearing a black coat and dark jeans, Kugler said. The man they were with was also Hispanic, about 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-5 and wearing a black coat and dark jeans, he said.

"This isn't what a mother should do," the chief said. "She should have told him to bring it to the counter or give it to a restaurant employee.

"Shame on her," Kugler said. "She needs to be held accountable."

The chief wondered whether anyone might have noticed the family earlier in the restaurant -- and could have information helpful to his department's investigation. He asked that anyone with information that could help identify the family in the video contact his detectives: (201) 843-7000.

to follow Daily Voice Saddle Brook-Elmwood Park and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE