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Stolen phones from South End bars tracked to different state, county

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CHARLOTTE — Several people say their phones were stolen during a night out in South End.

Those victims said they learned through an app that their phones ended up in a different state and even a different country.

“When I saw it in Miami, that’s when I realized that it was gone,” said victim Marin Blake.

Blake said she was one of many victims who were caught up in a pickpocketing scheme in South End.

According to police reports, Blake’s phone was stolen from the Rose Honky Tonk in March. Hours later, she said her phone ended up in another state, almost 800 miles away.

“It was just kind of a shock and was kind of scary because it made me realize that someone took something from me,” said Blake.

Now, her phone has been traced back to a city in China.

“I started getting a bunch of texts basically saying, ‘If you don’t click these certain links, we’re going to sell your information on the black market.’ It was very scary,” said Blake.

Courtney Spencer said her story is similar. She said her phone was stolen right out of her back pocket earlier this year at the same bar.

“I had no phone and no credit card, no debit card, and no ID,” said Spencer. “They did spend $583 on my credit card.”

Spencer, however, had not been able to track her phone, but she is confident it’s nowhere in Charlotte.

“It does make me curious to see where it did end up, because I don’t believe that Rose was its last stop,” said Spencer.

Kelly Huben said her phone was taken within minutes after she arrived at a bar Saturday night. It was last pinned two days ago in Miami.

“I am actually so curious if my phone’s going to go to China too. So, I have been checking periodically,” said Huben.

Now the victims are questioning if they are a part of an organized operation.

“This is a much bigger operation than just one person, probably pickpocketing people,” said Huven.

They all said they are now worried about going out to bars in South End. Moving forward, they plan to avoid putting their phones in their pockets.


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