The incident occurred near the intersection of Montgomery Avenue and Montgomery Place around 11:30 a.m.
According to police, the victim was walking when the suspect approached him and asked to use his cell phone. The victim agreed.
Instead of returning the phone to the victim following the call, the suspect threatened to physically harm the victim and his family and fled with the phone.
Fearing for his safety, the victim ran away and notified police.
Responding officer conducted a search for the suspect to no avail and left the scene.
About two hours later, Ventura police responded to a disturbance call at Paramount Cleaners located on the 9200 block of Telephone Road. Responding officers learned that one of the victim's family members saw the suspect in the laundry mat and approached him. That's when a physical altercation occurred.
After a brief struggle, the suspect was subdued and detained.
Christopher Czechorowski, 18, of Ventura was arrested and booked into the Ventura County Jail for robbery and was additionally booked for outstanding warrants. The victim's phone was recovered.
The victim's family member suffered minor injuries as he detained the suspect but did not require medical attention.
The investigation was ongoing. Anyone with information related to this incident was urged to contact the Ventura Police Department at (805) 339-4441.
