Man ties up Verizon clerk, steals 50 smartphones, Wichita police say

Clarification: The Z Wireless store is an authorized Verizon dealer but is not a company store. Earlier versions of this story were unclear.

A robber tied up an employee at a Z Wireless store that is a Verizon authorized dealer in the 600 block of South Greenwich early Saturday morning, Wichita police say.

Sgt. Mark Jackson said the suspect, wearing a black ski mask, pointed a 9mm handgun at the clerk, duct-taped his mouth and tied him to a chair about midnight.

The robber took off with about 50 smartphones, Jackson said.

Police still are investigating.

This story was originally published January 3, 2015 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Man ties up Verizon clerk, steals 50 smartphones, Wichita police say."