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Smash-And-Grab Robber In Bell Gardens Was Hoping For Big Windfall But Ended Up With Windex

BELL GARDENS (CBSLA.com) —  A would-be burglar who tried to steal a large screen television, now, ironically finds himself on TV.

The burglar is shown on surveillance video shattering the front door of a Bell Gardens business and then making his way inside the shop.

Police said the man was wearing a plastic mask along with a hoodie. But it's what happened next -- reports KCAL 9's Tom Wait --  that had detectives shaking their heads and many people laughing.

The would-be thief tries to make off with the TV.  But the struggle is real for this burglar -- the TV mounts are stubborn.

Try as he might, the set just won't come off the wall. The suspect flings himself on top of it, uses all of his body weight, bounces up and down on it.

Finally, the set comes down -– but apparently he was scared off.  After all that work  he leaves without the flat screen.

One man giggled when shown the video.

This was pretty much the reaction from folks when Wait showed them the video. Giggles and laughs and puzzlement.

"It's just like so dumb for him to do something like that, you know?," said one woman. "When the cameras are watching."

"He thought he could like easily get the TV but obviously he was having trouble pulling it out of the wall," said one man.

Police say the thief did get away with a laptop – and -- a bottle of Windex. He ran off into the night before he could be caught  -- apparently the bungling burglar was not seriously hurt from his tumble.

"It's funny to watch the video, but I mean, if you want to steal something make sure it's not[ [stuck] on to the wall," said one  woman.

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