CCTV via KGO-TV Security footage inside Pho 21 in South San Jose captured the moment the attempted thief entered the restaurant around 7:40 a.m., just 20 minutes before it was set to open.

Employees at a California pho restaurant stopped a would-be thief from kidnapping their $18,000 robot coworker last Saturday as the man awkwardly struggled to load the mechanical server into his car.