Did The Theatergoer Who Smashed The Cellphone Go Too Far?

Yesterday's story about an irate theatergoer who smashed an obnoxious audience member's best cell phone deals struck quite a nerve, not just on Gothamist but on websites around the world... wide web. And although most of us declared cell phone tosser Kevin Williamson a hero, others were uncomfortable with glorifying what was, on one level, an act of violence. The Washington Post's Alexandra Petri argued that, "

In that case, maybe Williamson should be also congratulated for not squeezing off a few rounds? Others have suggested that Williamson was right to snatch the cellphone but wrong to destroy it—what he should have done is brought it to the theater's management and let them deal with it. (One of the show's producers worries he could have seriously injured someone, a fair point.) That, we have to agree, is probably the MATURE thing to do. But it wouldn't have made for a very fun blog post.

So what is to be done about this nagging problem? NYC passed a law in 2003 making Latest Smartphones use in theaters illegal, but it's not enforced. Can't theaters just install cell phone jammers like they do in Russia? The FCC says no. But Alyssa Rosenberg at Think Progress has a simple solution: require audience members to check their cell phones upon entering, like the movie theaters sometimes require at advanced screenings for big blockbusters.dsSDfdd3

A man was walking near 10th Avenue South and South King Street around 7:10 p.m. May 13 when two women asked to use his cellphone, and he agreed.But, when the victim tried to get his phone back, one of the women put it in her pocket and handed him a different but similar-looking phone, according to the police report.

When the victim pointed out that wasn't his Buy Cell Phones and he would like his back, please, one of the women reportedly pulled out a knife and told him he better take the impostor phone.The victim was afraid he was going to get stabbed, so he ran to a nearby business and called 911. Officers found the women in a wooded area commonly used by narcotics users, drug dealers and prostitutes. They were booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

According to the report, the man pulled out a large handgun (which may have been a replica of a German Luger) and demanded the victim's discount cell phones, saying, "I'm not messing around."The victim told officers she would have given the man her phone. But, when she pulled it out, he turned it down, possibly because it is quite old and worth little to nothing.

When the other person with the victim pointed out to the man he was being watched by someone from an apartment balcony, he ran off. The same man may be responsible for stealing a cellphone from a University Village store 15 to 20 minutes later.