A 24-year-old man faces aggravated robbery and theft charges after allegedly stealing two phones from sellers in separate incidents hours apart.
Anthony Mordi was taken into custody on January 17 in Dallas by Arlington police, who linked him to an armed holdup earlier that day at an apartment complex on East Lamar Boulevard. The victim had set up the sale of an iPhone through an online platform, but the buyer allegedly brandished a firearm and escaped with the device instead of completing the transaction.
No gunfire occurred, and the seller was unharmed.
The robbery followed a similar theft in Keller, where another seller — known online as iFlipiFones — captured the encounter on video as part of a point-of-view recording for his side hustle reselling phones.
“I just didn’t want to get hurt in this situation. It kind of blew my mind how quickly he peeled it away. It was maybe 20 seconds, and it was super effortlessly,” the seller told FOX 4 KDFW. “I didn’t think he was going to peel off. He had like a full foot-long sub on his lap.”
Footage depicted Mordi, with food in his mouth, snatching the phone before driving off rapidly. The victim promptly reported the incident to Keller police.
Reflecting on the event, the Keller seller acknowledged overlooked red flags, such as Mordi backing his vehicle into a parking spot for an easy getaway.
“In hindsight, though, there were a lot of signs that I could’ve caught on to, and it was a little careless on my part. I could’ve taken more precaution,” he said, per Fox 4. “You know a few hundred dollars is nowhere near worth my life.”
After his arrest, Mordi was processed at Arlington County Jail before being transferred to Tarrant County Jail. He also faces unrelated charges in Collin County for evading arrest and marijuana possession.
The Keller theft occurred at a shopping center that lacked dedicated safe exchange areas, which many police agencies provide with video monitoring to deter crimes during online meetups.
