25-year-old sentenced to 3 years in prison for role in cellphone theft ring

A 25-year-old St. Paul man was sentenced to three years for his role in a cellphone theft ring in Minneapolis.

Court documents state that Sherrod Lamar Jr. has credit for 319 days already served. He has also agreed to pay restitution for this case and other cases that were dismissed as part of the plea deal. An amount wasn’t listed.

Twelve people in total were charged for the theft ring, which prosecutors say operated from June 2021 through May 2022.

In addition to stealing phones from over 40 people, the suspects also moved money from the victims’ phones to people in the theft ring.

The suspects often targeted people who were leaving bars, sometimes taking the phones by force.

Eventually, the suspects allegedly funneled phones to a man identified as Zhongshuang Su, nicknamed “the iPhone Man,” who would then sell the phones.

Authorities state more than four dozen phones were sent to Hong Kong and more than two dozen other phones were sent to Su’s employer.

Overall, the thefts are said to have cost a total of more than $300,000.