Man pretends phone is gun to hold burglar until police arrive

'The phone is black, so just pointing at him, it’s just like a weapon,' said the homeowner

The WhatsApp messaging app is displayed on an Apple iPhone (Getty Images)

A Miami beach man reacted quickly when he saw his car being broken into outside of his home - he pretended his phone was a gun.

The anonymous homeowner said his wife had seen someone rifling through their family car.

“There is somebody breaking into the car, and I said, ‘What?’” the homeowner said.

“I immediately called 911, and while talking to the police, I came outside. I pointed the phone to him, and I said, ‘Lay down.’ I start screaming, ‘What are you doing there?’ And he tried to come towards me, and I said, ‘Stay there. Don’t come here.’”

The incident lasted only five or six minutes.

“The phone is black, so just pointing at him, it’s just like a weapon,” he said.

The homeowner said he told the thief, who was later identified as 27-year-old Sheldon Johnson, to get on the ground.

“Face down, and I said, ‘Put your hands behind your back,’” he said.

“He put his hands on his back, and I was talking to the police.”

This was not Mr Johnson’s first experience with theft, as he had previously been arrested for petty theft, burglary, and robbery. He is facing several charges for this incident, including burglary, attempted grand theft auto and resisting arrest without violence.

“You know, it’s not a vigilante,” said the anonymous homeowner.

“It’s just to defend your property and nothing else.”

Mr Johnson is being held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Centre in West Miami-Dade without bond.