Attempted Cell Phone Ransom Gets Man Arrested: Police

BOSTON, MA — A Hyde Park man was arrested for demanding payment to return a woman's cell phone he found in a Harvard Square Station bathroom, police said.

A woman contacted Transit Police officers Sunday around 5:45 p.m. to report a stolen cell phone. She told police she left her iPhone in a unisex bathroom in the station's lobby. When she returned to get it, she couldn't find it.

The woman told police she used a friend's phone to call her own. No one answered, but she then received a text telling her she'd get the phone back for $200. She called again and a male answered. The two negotiated the price down to $120, the woman said, and she was given instructions on where to meet.

Police went to the area she was supposed to meet the man. When the suspect saw the police, he allegedly fled. Police caught the man, identified as 23-year-old Roggers Etienne, near Bow Street near Linden Street following a lengthy foot chase. Etienne was arrested for receiving stolen property.