Man Arrested After Demanding $180 Ransom For Cell Phone

He should have just taken the $100 while he had the chance.

That's really not a bad offer at all.

FRANKLIN — A 26-year-old Franklin man was arrested after police say he attempted to extort a man of $180 in ransom money for the return of a stolen cell phone.

Bradley Vaughn is accused of taking a cell phone accidentally left on a shelf at Walmart on Mallory Lane.

The phone's owner realized he had left his phone when he got to the checkout area. After going back and seeing that the phone had been picked up, he used a Walmart employee's phone to send a text message to his missing phone, offering a $100 reward for its return.

That’s when, police say, Vaughn demanded a ransom of $180 for the return of the phone.

Franklin police said that Vaughn instructed the man to leave the cash under a glass of ice on the bar at the Chili’s restaurant in Cool Springs, and that’s exactly what the phone's owner did — but not before calling police.

A waiting plain-clothes officer saw Vaughan come into the restaurant and head for the restroom before picking up the money left by the victim, police said.

Vaughan, who fought with officers in the bar, was charged with resisting arrest and felony theft.

Officers found the victim’s cell phone hidden in the Chili’s men’s room and have returned it to its rightful owner.

h/t: WilliamsonAM. Cross-posted.