A video that was posted on YouTube showing a San Diego man beating up another who he believes stole his I-Phone, has gone viral on Friday.
Kenneth Schmidgall, 26, lost his phone at a concert before the first of the year. He had a tracking app installed in the phone in case he lost it or it got stolen.
He decided to go looking for it and along with his roommate, Greg Torkelson, a freelance photographer, they tracked the phone to La Jolla. They saw a man on a bike who according to Schmidgall appeared to be trying to sell the phone, and tried to talk to the man, but he took off on his bike.
Schmidgall and Torkelson lost the man but found him again about a mile away. When the man saw them tracking him he took off again. Schmidgall and Torkelson, spotted him later on La Jolla Shores Drive. Eventually after about 5 minutes they track the man to the beach and Schmidgall gets out of the car and runs after him. Torkelson follows behind taking the video camera to film what happened next.
In the video you see Schmidgall and the alleged thief fighting on the beach. At one point, Torkelson pepper-sprays the man and Schmidgall holds on to the man waiting for the police to show up.
For a bit the video goes black but you can still hear voices and Torkelson yelling, "He has my cell phone. He's under citizen's arrest right not…call the police."
The video remains black for awhile and then it changes to a view of the sky and the argument continues for another 5 minutes while Schmidgall tries to get the man's other arm, so he can put handcuffs on him. Yes, Schmidgall had a pair of handcuffs on him.
A man in plain clothes approached and identified himself as the police and puts the man in a sitting position and helps prop him up.
A few minutes later a police officer in uniform arrives, while a lifeguard administers first aid, as the man was bleeding. Later you see the a police officer putting the man into a vehicle, after he was taking into custody for an outstanding warrant.
KGTV-TV spoke with Schmidgall and asked him if it was worth it.
"It's not about the phone that is so much important, it's just the fact that people can get away with this kind of stuff all the time with cell phones being stolen. People don't stand their ground for it."
After you watch the video do you think you will be inspired to track down your phone if it ever gets stolen?
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