A car stereo foiled a thief’s plan after he and the car owner, who was being robbed, couldn’t remove it from the dashboard, but the thief still made off with the stereo faceplate and cash, according to a Denton police report.

A 22-year-old sandwich delivery worker caught the man breaking into his Pontiac Firebird on Monday in the 2500 block of Interstate 35. When questioned, the man at first said the car belonged to his friend Julio.

When the delivery driver showed the man his keys, the man demanded that the driver remove the stereo, and if he refused, he would shoot him.

However, the task proved more difficult than the thief imagined.

The driver tried several times to remove the stereo, but failed, and he offered the thief cash instead.

At first, the thief refused the money, but soon he warmed up to the idea. He took $150 to $200 from the delivery driver the first time and more money the second time.

However, the thief didn’t back off from his top priority — the stereo.

When the driver failed the final time, the thief told the man to scoot over to the passenger’s seat, and the thief attempted to remove it from the car. But he couldn’t get it to budge either.

Eventually, he gave up.

As he was leaving, he told the delivery driver to put his head between his legs and not move for 10 minutes. A minute later, the worker ran from the car and called police from the apartment where he had delivered food.

During the robbery, the thief wouldn’t let the worker look at him, but the 22-year-old was able to give a detailed description of the suspect to police. No suspects have been arrested.

He was described as a Hispanic man, 25 to 30 years old with a slight accent. He was 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-8, and he weighed about 180 pounds. He was wearing a light gray hooded sweatshirt.

Other reports

3900 block of Drexel Drive — A wife called police late Sunday to report that her estranged husband had ripped open all the children’s gifts, and he was attempting to throw them into the swimming pool, according to a police report.

The woman was shopping at Wal-Mart when she received a phone call from her husband, who threatened to throw the presents in the pool if she didn’t return home in five minutes, the report said.

She left immediately. When she returned home, her husband had ripped open most of the presents and thrown them around the dining room area, the report said.

The man did not hurt anyone.

The woman told police that she wanted her husband to leave the house for Christmas so the children could enjoy it, the report said. The man agreed to leave until after Christmas.

He was not arrested.

3400 block of Joyce Lane — A 16-year-old girl ran away from her home on Christmas Eve after her mother refused to let her go out with her friends, a police report said. The mother told police that the girl has not run away before.

500 block of West University Drive — A man walked out of a grocery store without paying for a 12-pack of beer, and when he was approached in the parking lot, the man threw money at a store employee, according to a police report.

The man walked into the store around 6:40 a.m. Monday and immediately left with a package of Budweiser beer, the report said.

When a store employee approached him, he threw a $20 bill at her, but she told him he couldn’t buy beer because of the time. State law prohibits stores from selling alcohol before 7 a.m. on weekdays.

Employees detained him until police arrived, the report said.

800 block of Sherman Lane — A man walked into a convenience store early Monday to buy a case of beer, but when a store employee said that he couldn’t, the man grabbed a pack of beer and ran out, a police report said.

The man ran to an awaiting car in the parking lot of a church across the street from the gas station, the report said.

DAN X. McGRAW can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is dmcgraw@dentonrc.com.

Denton County Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in these or other crimes. Callers will remain anonymous. Call 1-800-388-TIPS (8477).