Mall reimburses Good Samaritan for damages

AVENTURA, Fla. (WSVN) -- 7News helped a man who felt he was ripped off by a South Florida mall after he stopped a would-be thief.

Chris DiPietro does not want to be called a hero, he just wanted to be reimbursed for personal property damage after he subdued a would-be thief. "I said, 'I'm not a hero.' I do what everybody should do," said DiPietro.

DiPietro said it was a busy Saturday afternoon at Aventura Mall when he heard a woman yelling for help. "'Help, he stole my computer, my phone!' We heard her screaming loud," said DiPietro.

DiPietro sprung into action when he saw a young man running with the stolen computer and phone. "I tried to block him," he said. "I reached my hand back. As I swung at him, he grabbed my shirt, he went down. My sunglasses exploded off my face, my shirt was ripped."

The thief dropped the stolen computer and phone and continued to run but was caught by mall security. "While he's going down, he grabbed a hold of my shirt," said DiPietro, "ripped my shirt. My sunglasses were in my face. My Oakley's, they went flying off."

DiPietro said he called Aventura Mall numerous times and received no response. He said he just wanted them to replace his shattered Oakley's and ripped shirt. "Never a response. When I call there is an answering machine. There's no response, no thank you, nothing," he said.

DiPietro then reached out to 7News for help. 7News called Aventura Mall management, and within an hour, the mall management released a statement that read: "A review of the claim has been completed and the matter has been resolved."

DiPietro received a phone call, and the mall will be sending him a check for $317.

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