Men arrested for ripping off movie theater

SUNRISE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Police have arrested two men who orchestrated a robbery at a South Florida movie theater.

Police are talking about Justin Tessier and Benjamin Neff, who were caught on video pulling off an inside job at the Regal Cinemas movie theater at the Sawgrass Mills Mall early Tuesday morning.

Now, the debut feature film footage of these two men has landed them behind bars. Police laid out that film's plot: "The suspect that we saw in the black hoodie with the bandanna on was actually let in by the co-defendant, the assistant manager with a movie pass for the last movie of the night," explained Sunrise Police Lt. Brian Gerity.

Tessier went to a restroom to don his outfit in order to play the role of the robber. "Some point after the movie and the crowd getting out he went to the bathroom, he changed into his black robbery clothes and waited for everybody to leave, and that's when he came out," Gerity said.

Meanwhile, Neff took the role as a cooperative victim as Tessier placed a pellet gun to the back of his neck. Little did they know police were already on their way. As Tessier and Neff played out the robbery, police had received a 911 call from another manager closing the theater for the night, who the suspect had tied up, along with a second manager. Those managers were not in on the scam, and one of them was able to dial 911 on a nearby phone with his tongue.

Police caught Tessier as he exited the theater with about $8,000 in money from three safes, and he confessed that Neff had been in on the robbery.

Both suspects now sit behind bars at the Broward County Jail with no bond, charged with robbery with a firearm, kidnapping during the commission of a felony, displaying a firearm during a felony, false imprisonment, and second degree petit theft.

(Copyright 2009 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)