BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A 42-year-old Boca Raton man is facing a felony robbery charge after police say he grabbed a woman’s cellphone during an argument and wouldn’t give it back. Robert Paul Rosetto faces one count of robbery by sudden snatching, without a firearm or other weapon.
Officers were at the Tiki Bar at the Boca Plaza Hotel on North Federal Highway around 12:47 a.m. last Sunday, investigating a battery complaint, when Rosetto told them about a separate domestic disturbance earlier that night. He said a woman punched him in the face while the two rode in his pickup truck near Palmetto Park Road and Dixie Highway, but he declined to explain what led up to it. A bartender told police Rosetto had been yelling profanities at the woman inside the bar.
The woman gave police a different account. She said Rosetto got upset in the truck and started yelling, so she began recording him on her phone. According to the arrest report, he grabbed the phone out of her hand, deleted her video and other messages, and took screenshots of her private messages and sent them to himself. Police recovered some of the deleted files, including a video whose audio captured Rosetto yelling profanities and a woman screaming during what sounded like a physical struggle. She denied punching him, but told officers she grabbed and pulled his shirt while trying to get her phone back. She said she got it back only after locating his truck later that night.
Rosetto told police the woman had embarrassed him earlier in the evening and was trying to make him “look like the bad guy” by recording him. He eventually admitted taking the phone, deleting the recording and messages, and keeping it, saying he did so “for her safety.” Police said his admissions matched her account. He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail and later released on his own recognizance. A court date is pending.
We remind readers that charges filed by law enforcement agencies are allegations and that all criminal defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. We also remind readers that civil court filings are allegations made by the party filing suit. The validity of those allegations will be determined in court. If you are the subject of reporting that you believe is inaccurate, please email us immediately at clarification@bocanewsnow.com.
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