What it’s like when somebody jacks your phone on the bus

Our pal Brittney just found out:

I was taking an 11:15-ish outbound 27-Bryant home from work, and we’d only gone one stop when at 5th and Mission a blonde blur of a man snatched my iPhone right out of my hand then ran right out the back doors of the bus.

The most I could muster was to stand to my feet and yell, “HEY.” He took me completely by surprise. I had my headphones on and with a single jerk he detached the phone cleanly from the headphone jack and forcibly removed it from my hand. A couple of goths, a couple, ran out after him, while I stood there stunned.

They screamed at him. There was yelling. I didn’t make any of it out. I just stood there.

Read on.

45 Responses to “What it’s like when somebody jacks your phone on the bus”

  1. scum says:

    Blaming the victim on this one.

    • wrybread says:

      Of course you do. How utterly stupid to use your phone in public, right?

      • scum says:

        Headphones on.Warning billboard above her head.Story’s on the radio, TV, newspaper, web and here talking about all the phone snatchings. Read the whole story idiot, even she knows she fucked up.

        • wrybread says:

          Oh please I read the article. And calling strangers on the internet idiots doesn’t make you sound any more right.

          And I’m guessing you also think wearing a short skirt justifies someone being raped?

  2. SFkix says:

    Sorry to hear about your phone, word of caution to others, hold on to your belongings when those back doors open.
    The Mission Police Captain says that stealing of personal electronic devices (especially on MUNI) is the biggest rising crime and a lot of it goes unreported.
    Remember to file a police report online, it won’t do anything to get your phone back, but it’s important for police to know how much of this is happening and where.

  3. Alicia says:

    Ywah, I saw some kids pull a similar move on a guy on the 38 last week. Except in this case they were trying to steal his pricey headphones, so they grabbed them off his head and ran out the back door. He was holding tight, so all they managed to do was to pull the earpiece off the wire. Jerks.

  4. jlaix says:

    Like, OMG, Britney, that, like, totally SUCKS for you!

    • Neugs says:

      Dude, you are an asshole. She actually just got a job with CBS…no airhead here.

      • Jerkface says:

        Oh yes, CBS. The universally recognized marker of intellectual and cultural achievement. The purveyors of enlightened artistic milestones such as Big Brother, Survivor, the CSIs, the NCISs, and The Talk. Your point is made. An airhead could never survive in an atmosphere of such imagination and originality.

  5. Turnips says:

    Saw a degenerate piece of shit attempt this on a crowded 22 last week. He didn’t get the phone but he was out the door and around the corner before people realized what he had attempted.

  6. GG says:

    OK, this pushed me over the edge. I’m finally buying one of these: http://www.kenu.com/products/highline

    • MrEricSir says:

      Looks like it just plugs into the dock connector, which means someone could still easily snatch the phone out of your hand.

      Which is too bad, because it would be good if the iPhone had a Wiimote-style safety band.

  7. Andy says:

    Not to go the “blame the victim” route, but most of the robberies lately in the Mission are crimes of opportunity. Walking home from the bar carrying a laptop isnt a good idea just as holding your iPhone up in front of a bunch of strangers. You see a phone and they see $300.

    My Suggestion is just to get MetroPCS. Chances are they already have it and know its not worth robbing someone for.

  8. chalkman says:

    you need to chase screaming “That fucker just stole my phone” and hope someone goes for the tackle….

  9. LibertyHiller says:

    Riding the bus at 11pm? Pay attention to your surroundings, or pay for a new toy. Your call.

  10. Jerkface says:

    Don’t worry, baby. Mommy’s gonna’ buy you a brand new one.

  11. Justin says:

    The Kenu Highline (kenu.com/highline) totally works. I attach the Highline to my key-chain then slide my phone in my pocket. Since the bungee leash is made of Kevlar it can resist near 30LBs of pressure. Definitely a great deterrent for thieves.

    • JenD says:

      haha 30 lbs of force? I can produce that and more with a sharp snap of the wrist. This is just another useless product to make white people feel secure. One would get better security if the loop were made from a shoelace.

  12. Lillian says:

    Reading the privilege in that story made me want to puke.

    • Hey! says:

      Show some respect! A white lady got mugged!

    • el a cid says:

      Ahh yes, the grand privelege of someone who works until 11 PM on Labor Day and takes the bus home.

    • MrEricSir says:

      The privilege of what, having your shit stolen?

      • Lillian says:

        I just found the tone of the entire story to be rather irksome, revealing certain things about the person I find to coincide with having a fairly charmed life.

        Sucks her beloved iPhone is gone though, I’ll keep her in my prayers through these hard times.

        • wrybread says:

          Put it this way: she was mugged. Does that help you empathize?

          Oh never mind, I didn’t think so.

        • MrEricSir says:

          Well it’s a good thing you express your personal judgements about others to let us know who does and does not deserve to be robbed.

          • Lillian says:

            You’re putting words in my mouth Mr Eric, sir. I simply found the tone of the story obnoxious, the content was irrelevant to my commentary. I never said (nor thought) that she deserved to get robbed.

            I could care less that she did however, it’s just a fucking phone. It’s not like she got attacked and beaten before having her belongings stolen. A mugging, I would have empathized with.

          • MrEricSir says:

            Then make you should learn when to shut up.

            Next time you want to talk about “privilege,” find another place to whine that’s appropriate. This is not one of them.

        • Julia says:

          Next time something of value gets stolen from you (I don’t wish it upon you- but it happens to the best of us) i hope you remember this comment you posted. You’re extremely rude.

  13. Over Here says:

    Watch out for the blond guys they are trouble! I have noticed most of the terrorists on TV are blond …..

  14. Swanky says:

    This chick thinks she was “mugged?” Hardly. A mugging requires the additional element of a beatdown. And, I like the way she even tries to diminish the goth couple because they weren’t blessed with an iPhone. Classic.

    • Jerkface says:

      Right?

      Subtext:

      “Then he pulled out some gross old flip-phone and I was like, ‘Barf! Get away from me with that under-class technology. That thing has buttons and looks like it was free when you signed up with Verizon. You probably can’t even pinterest on that piece of shit.’

      It’s like, yeah I’m really gonna’ call someone. Does he even know how totally poor people look talking on phones. Phones are for texting and blogging and taking pictures of you and your friends doing cool things in cool places and listening to Bon Iver. Put your lame phone away, dude. If I have to look at it for one more second I’m totally not gonna’ be able to contain this temper tantrum I’ve got simmering just under the surface of my stunned and pathetic expression.”

  15. Kevin says:

    wow, have these commenters a case of iPhone envy, or what?

  16. Ginny Mies says:

    Ugh, these comments.

    This *almost* happened to me a few years ago on the 12, but I scratched the guy and screamed and saved my precious phone. Nobody even noticed because they were too tuned into their own phones…

    It happens, it sucks.

  17. Kenji says:

    Why didn’t she just get a cab, sounds like she could afford it with her new j-o-b at CBS, right?

  18. whatever says:

    Sucks that her phone got stolen but the way she tells her story irritates me — she sounds snotty. Anyways, whatever, we live in a city. That has crime. Welcome to the city, and your dumb-ass should probably stay out of the sketchier parts of the East-Bay.