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Man Tries to Rob a Restaurant With an iPhone

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So I came across this story recently about a man who tried to rob a restaurant with a iPhone! This is definitely one of the stranger cases of financial desperation that I have seen in a long time!

Apparently, Jerome Taylor entered the Northern Indian restaurant in New London, Connecticut and put on a mask. He then pulled something out of his pocket and demanded money from the cooks.

I guess he picked the wrong restaurant, because the cooks responded by grabbing their knives and refusing to give up the money. Well, instead of attacking the cooks or at least threatening them further, Taylor claimed to be “just kidding” and issued an apology. He then told them that he needed the money in order to feed his child (I guess it’s too late to put her on a slow carb diet 😯 ), and then left the establishment.

Since it doesn’t seem as though Taylor had much of a plan, it should come to no surprise to learn that he was caught by the police soon after. He then confessed and told them that he tried to rob the restaurant with an iPhone!

Yep, he tried to rob a restaurant with an iPhone!!! After learning of this, the cooks said that they feel sorry for him and they will not press charges. As of the time of this story, the police had decided to charge Taylor with attempted robbery, anyway.

Maybe if he would have read my article on how to cut cell phone expenses, he would have had been able to buy some food from the restaurant instead. Next time he should just use his iPhone to search for a few frugal living tips!

A Few Questions:

  1. Since he needed food and was in a restaurant, why didn’t he just rob them for a couple of plates of food? Maybe he doesn’t like Indian food?

  2. Am I the only one that noticed that he owns an expensive smartphone that requires an expensive data plan? Perhaps he stole it or purchased it when his cash flow was better?

  3. What is the craziest thing that you have done out of financial desperation? If I get enough responses to this one, maybe I’ll put up another post with my answer. 😉


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  2. Kudos on your question #2. Let’s say that he stole the phone or purchased it when his cash flow was better, then why not sell that phone instead of trying to rob a restaurant? Iphone is the one of the most sought-after phones and if he sells that, he’ll get a good sum of money.

    Apparently, I have done ‘craziest thing” out of financial desperation and if “ever” I face such dilemma, I will not do something that will put me in a lot worse situation.

  3. I know times are hard but why did the restaurant let him off? I know he is still potentially getting time for attempted robbery and wasting police time but still!! He could have worked the hours that have now been wasted. The iPhone is now evidence so it can’t be sold.

  4. If true this is really really sad. He would have rather held up a restaurant than gone into a pawn shop and pawned his iPhone….. Odd!!!

  5. The guy has an iPhone….yet he needs the money that bad. Hmmm…

    I’m suspecting that maybe he had some kind of mental issues beyond the obvious level of bad judgement excercised here. Clearly he picked the wrong place to try to pull a stunt like that, though they were exceedingly generous to him later when they could have pressed charges.

    This may or may not be related to economic woes over the last few years. Really, there have always been unstable people among us. This one just stands out for his “use” of technology and his dire straits while owning what’s not a need but still a luxury for many these days. I hope the guy gets his act together after his self-inflicted legal woes are over, and wish him a better life.

  6. What a moron. What an absolute moron. He had other avenues including, yes, 1) asking for food; 2) selling the darn iPhone, 3) signing up for public assistance for women, infants and children or 4) visiting a food bank or soup kitchen. Now he will get free meals courtesy of his jail time and the baby will be hungry and without a father. Really smart.

  8. Is robbing a restaurant a new iPhone app? He could have shoplifted food, right? He could have gone to food banks as another alternative. When you are desperate, you don’t make good choices. Also, you make choices based on your experience. He may not be aware of other choices.

  10. Was the iPhone working? It might have been disconnected. Who knows. This is really sad. Can’t say that I’ve done anything crazy. But I have been amazed at the how power of prayer and refusing to worry helps me avoid bad choices in the midst of mini-crisis.