Several people detained a man on Monday who was accused of snatching a cell phone from a university student in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba, and recovered the device before the police arrived.
The incident occurred in the area known as El Sierra, according to a report published by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada on Facebook.
According to the report, the man allegedly snatched the cellphone from the young man and tried to escape, but several people at the scene reacted, intercepted him, and recovered the phone.
Images released from the scene show the man surrounded by numerous citizens, initially sitting and later lying on the ground while they awaited the arrival of the authorities.
"It was not a police operation that managed to detain him: it was the people present at the scene who reacted, intercepted him, and recovered the cell phone," stated Mayeta Labrada.
Subsequently, police officers arrived at the scene, took charge of the man, and transferred him to a unit in Palma Soriano.
So far, no official information has been released regarding his identity or the potential charges he may face. Mayeta Labrada identified the victim as a university student.
The incident occurs amidst repeated citizen reports of thefts and assaults in Santiago de Cuba. At the beginning of September, residents of the Trocha and Gasómetro neighborhoods alerted about nighttime assaults, while days later, there was a report of the snatching of a chain from a woman inside her home.
This is not the first time that citizens have intervened directly in response to a suspected theft. In August, residents detained another man accused of stealing a cellphone in the same province.
Mayeta Labrada called, however, to prevent the civic response from turning into violence against the suspects.
"Justice cannot turn into a street beating either. Arresting a suspected criminal is the responsibility of the authorities, and determining their guilt falls to a legal process," he warned.
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