Magician foils crime with sleight of hand

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – David Copperfield has magically escaped getting robbed.

The 49-year-old illusionist was walking with two female assistants to their tour bus after his show Sunday at a performing arts center when four teens pulled up in a black car, a police report said.

Two armed robbers allegedly got out of the car and demanded the group’s belongings. One woman handed over $400 from her pockets and the other gave up her purse with 200 euros, $100, her passport, plane tickets and a cell phone. Copperfield refused to empty his pockets, the report said.

Copperfield says he turned his pockets inside out to reveal nothing in them, even though he was carrying his passport, wallet and cell phone.

“Call it reverse pickpocketing,” Copperfield told The Palm Beach Post.

Copperfield read the license plate number of the car to an assistant who called 911, the report said.

Four teenagers were arrested and charged with armed robbery. They were held without bond, police said. The women’s property was recovered.

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