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Video Shows Man Using Tot Accomplice To Climb Into Arcade Game And Steal Prizes, Cops Say

The man and his tiny partners made off with an armful of electronics, but were captured on video in the process, police said.

By Noah Hurowitz Sep 18, 2018, 2:17 PM ET

An alleged thief coaxes a toddler out of an arcade-style game at a New Hampshire mall after getting the tot to climb in and steal electronics, according to police. Photo: Salem Police Department

Call it a tot plot.

A thief in New Hampshire used a tiny accomplice to swindle a mall arcade game for a bundle of electronics and other goodies last week, according to police.

The suspect was spotted on camera using the child for his nefarious plot on Friday evening at the Mall at Rockingham Park, in Salem, New Hampshire, police said.

The video, which the Union-leader newspaper reports was shot by two young onlookers, shows the suspect already in the act and trying to coax the toddler back out of the machine.

“Turn around, stick your butt right here,” he says as another child who was with him fidgets nearby.

Before long, a tiny face appears, and the girl, whom police described as a toddler, pokes her head out of the machine and climbs out, according to the video.

Theft from Mall at Rockingham Park
Attached is a video from the incident Saturday night at the Mall at Rockingham Park. The video has intentionally been blurred out to protect the identity of the involved children. Anyone who recognizes the suspect in this case is urged to call Detective Dempsey at 603-890-2343 or message us here on Facebook. Thank you!
Posted by Salem NH Police Department on Monday, September 17, 2018

Hanna Forese, a hostess at the Red Robin restaurant across the way from the machine, told the Union-Leader that she ran outside to witness the alleged crime after overhearing “that’s so unsafe” from a customer discussing the incident-in-progress.

Forese, who notified security, said she saw the man and his two wards toddle off with an armful of pricey loot, according to the Union-Leader.

“There was a Nintendo Switch and a Gameboy DS,” she told the paper. “They grabbed multiple prizes, but those were the two I saw. Then I just saw them walking up the escalator.”

Police described the bandit as a bearded man between 20 and 30 years old last seen wearing a black Sig Sauer hat, a blue T-shirt, shorts and sneakers, according to a statement from the Salem Police Department.

Anyone with information on the identity of the bandit, who police accuse of endangering a child, is encouraged to call the Salem Police Department at (603) 890–2343.

[Photo: Salem Police Department]