While Aiden's mother, Kira Tolley was shopping for an anniversary gift last Sunday at a shoe and clothing store in Greenwich Village, she says a well-dressed man stole her iPhone while her son was playing with it.
"He told me 'give me your phone, and Aiden said no," says Kira, "and that's when he snatched it from him." Kira says the brazen thief even patted Aiden on the head and gave him three dollars before taking off, leading security on an unsuccessful chase.
"90 percent of the time you can tell there's something iffy about people, and the way their demeanor is," says store owner Zacky Joseph, "but he was dressed nice and dressed well – it was unexpected."
Ultimately, law enforcement used the phone's GPS and the Find My iPhone app to track it to the Bronx where it was sold.
"As soon as the police officers came to the store, they said 'let's track it'," adds Kira. Kira says police arrested the suspect at a homeless shelter.
"I watched the news all of the time, and I hear these stories about kids who have wandered off, or kids who have been snatched and things that have happened, and I say 'what horrible parents, how could you not be watching your kids?' and I was literally within arm's reach of him," Kira said.
Police tell Eyewitness News that the suspect is 53-year-old Feliberto Ramirez. Ramirez has been arrested and charged with grand larceny.
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