Brantford TV thief robbed of his stolen TV

Brantford police are looking for a thief who ended up in a shoving match in a parking lot trying to protect a stolen TV from being stolen by another man.

It happened on Wednesday evening, police say, when a man went into a business on King George Road in Brantford. He selected a pair of headphones before then shoving them down his pants, a police news release reads.

Then man then went to customer service, and asked they call him a cab. "The suspect waits a few minutes and then selects a 40-inch television in a box and places this inside a grocerycart," the news release reads.

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The man then leaves the store without paying, and goes to the side of the building, where he leavesthe TV on the ground unattended for a little while.

Then, police say, a 55-year-old man who had been driving by saw the TV, stopped his car, and put the TV in the back. At this point, the original suspect ran back to the area and confronted the other man.

"A confrontation ensues where the two engage in pushing each other and the suspect knocks a cell phone out of the hand of the citizen," the news release reads. "The suspect picks up the citizen's cell phone and tells the citizen that he will keep the phone unless he gives him the television."

Things continued to escalate, and then the original thief showed the second man a handgun he had on his hip in a holster, police say. It was then that the man swapped the TV for his phone back.

Officers arrived and searched the area, and saw a cab pull up to a home on Barbara Street. One of the officers approached a resident, who was out front talking with the cab driver.

"The officer learned that the suspect had attended a home on Barbara and asked the homeowner to telephone a cab for him and then hid in the backyard waiting for the cab to arrive," the news release reads.

Police told the cab to leave, and searched the back yard. They found the stolen TV, headphones and a pellet gun. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.

Officers are still searching for him.