WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Police have arrested a man accused of stealing iPhones at SunFest.
Jose de la Caridad Garcia Montelongo, 27, of Hialeah, was arrested Friday night at the downtown West Palm Beach waterfront music festival.
Just after 9:30 p.m., police began receiving reports of cellphones being stolen during a concert on the south stage.
Witnesses told police they observed people zigzagging their way through the concertgoers, stealing phones.
A sergeant standing near the exit closest to the south stage noticed a man matching a suspect's description try to evade her, West Palm Beach police spokesman Mike Jachles said.
As the sergeant approached him, a police captain saw the man drop three phones on the ground.
The man, later identified as Garcia Montelongo, told detectives he tried to get rid of the phones when he saw police because he knew "it would not look good and the police would think he stole them."
Garcia Montelongo faces one count of grand theft. He was released from jail Saturday on a $4,500 bond.
Jachles said there were no reports of any phone thefts Saturday at SunFest and no arrests were made.
"People are focusing on watching the acts, watching the stage, while these thieves are watching the people," Jachles told WPTV. "And guess what? West Palm Beach police, we're watching the thieves."
