Thief breaks right into a Miami retailer with a field over his head

According to TMZ, a Florida thief was arrested despite trying to hide his face with a large cardboard box when he broke into a Miami store on Saturday (June 3).

The robbery reportedly happened around 4 a.m. at a phone repair shop in Miami Gardens, TMZ reports.

Thief was caught in Miami despite wearing a box over his head to hide his identity

Surveillance footage from NBC 6 South Florida shows the man carrying a box over his head smashing a glass case containing an unknown object.

The bandit with the box stole 19 iPhones and more than $8,000 in cash, Irepair Tech owner Jeremias Berganza told NBC 6.

However, CCTV video showed him briefly lifting the box to see what he was grabbing. His face was revealed, which eventually led to his arrest hours later.

Immediately after the robbery, Berzanga said he watched surveillance video and paused when the thief took the box from his face, causing the box to fall and exposing his face.

The shopkeeper then began searching for the suspect in the mall. He told authorities he had warned other companies to beware of the thief, who was still at large at the time.

Miami Gardens police were eventually able to locate and arrest the suspect, who was drinking at a nearby liquor store.

NBC 6 later identified the man in the box as 33-year-old Claude Vincent Griffin.

Police charged Griffin with grand larceny, burglary, criminal mischief and cocaine possession. He was also accused of nonviolently resisting an officer, the outlet reports.

The box-headed bandit is on the rise on social media: ‘Put on list of world’s dumbest criminals’

Meanwhile, social media users had a blast with the story.

“The box-head bandit 😂,” one person commented on the NBC 6 Instagram post. “Looks like the box didn’t make a difference,” wrote another.

“Added to list of world’s dumbest criminals,” noted another.

“When your Pooh Shiesty mask was washed. But you still have to get the job done,” added a third person.

“Hey it worked ’til you drop,” wrote another user.

A brief police bodycam clip appears to show Griffin’s arrest. In his mug shot, also obtained by NBC 6, Griffin can be seen with a large, golf ball-sized welt on his face.