Thief Steals a Woman's Phone, Immediately Gets Hit by a Car and Beaten by the Community (VIDEO)

WARNING: VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS VIOLENCE

Sometimes, crime just doesn’t pay.

Other times, it pays with the currency of getting creamed.

Such seems to be the case recently in Brazil, according to the viral video account of an alleged attempted phone theft.

As seen in a Twitter clip from @Unicanal, a woman standing on the sidewalk had her cell phone snatched by a bicyclist rolling by.

⚖️👊¡JUSTICIA POR MANO PROPIA!

👇Le robó un celular a una mujer y así lo redujeron los transeúntes en Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brasil.

Uno lo embistió sin dudar con su auto, escapó, lo siguieron, y a metros los transeúntes lo atraparon para reducirlo a golpes.#VIRAL pic.twitter.com/KDKvCuYsmT

— Unicanal (@Unicanal) March 2, 2021

But there are more on wheels than bikes — right after the snatch, said sneak got rolled by a car.

Bye-bye, bicycle.

After getting wrecked, the thief made a run for it.

Cut to a different video, captured by what appears to be a bystander’s mobile phone.

As Mr. Telephone Man attempts his escape, street justice gets a New Edition: a community of folks’ feet and fists.

🎶New Edition released their song ‘Mr. Telephone Man’ 36 years ago today, December 8, 1984 pic.twitter.com/fF5Fl0HUIx

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) December 9, 2020

A group surrounds the guy and grounds him.

It’s an ugly sight — especially, surely, to the opportunist who opted to grab something that wasn’t his.

The tweet’s Spanish description — translated by SpanishEnglish.com — reads in part as follows:

JUSTICE BY YOUR OWN HAND!

Stole a cell phone from a woman and was reduced by passers-by in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil.

One rammed him without hesitation with his car, escaped, followed him, and within yards the passers-by caught him to beat him…

The video reminds me of a viral post from last June, reportedly featuring a man in Chicago throwing rocks at cars (LANGUAGE WARNING):

I don't know if the guy who was throwing rocks at cars was a member of Antifa or just a straight up dumbass but justice served! pic.twitter.com/9jfvMyZ0ny

— Michael DeLauzon 🇺🇸 🦅 (@MichaelDeLauzon) June 15, 2020

To be clear, I do not condone violence or any kind of vigilante acts.

Having said that, the world is a dangerous place. And seeing people react physically to wrongdoing is just one more reminder that — as suggested in Jurassic Park — just because you can do something…it doesn’t mean you should.