Toronto police have arrested a man who allegedly tried to rob the owner of Barberian Steakhouse Monday but they are still looking for a woman who stole the businessman's cellphone while he was fighting off his attacker.
The incident was caught on video which was circulated to the media yesterday. It shows Barberian being attacked from behind outside his Elm Street restaurant after he was spotted holding a cash till. The video also shows a woman picking up a cellphone off the street while the two men were scuffling.
“He tried to push me a little bit and grab the money,” restaurant owner Aaron Barberian told CP24 Tuesday afternoon.
After realizing the man didn’t have a weapon, Barberian said he decided to fight back.
“I grabbed him, basically, by the back of his jersey and kind of hockey-fight style dragged him around and ragdolled him and threw him to the ground a couple times,” he said.
One of his employees is seen on the video helping Barberian along with another woman who helped pick up the money which fell on the street. The money was immediately given to Barberian but the cellphone was not returned.
“So really I was assaulted by one person and then had a theft by another,” Barberian said.
Police describe the suspected cellphone thief as a "non-white" woman who wore her hair in a long, black ponytail. She is seen in the video wearing a black hat, a dark 3/4-length winter coat with a fur trim, black winter boots with tassels and red soles and was carrying a black purse. She was seen getting out of a dark-blue Honda CRV with was parked on the south side of Elm Street with a trailer hitch.
A photo of the suspect has been released to the public with the hope that someone will come forward and help identify her.
The male suspect police arrested has been identified as 44-year-old Joel Brown, of no fixed address. He was arrested on Queen Street West at 1 a.m.
Brown has been charged with robbery and two counts of failing to comply with probation. He was expected to appear in court Wednesday morning.
