Illusionist David Copperfield and two of his assistants were robbed Sunday night by a group of teenagers who drove up as the performers were walking to their tour bus after a show in Palm Beach, Florida.  Two of the teens pointed guns at them and demanded their belongings.  The two assistants handed over a total of about $700, a passport, plane tickets and a cell phone.  Copperfield apparently handed over nothing.  The reason for this is in some dispute, however.

According to the AP report, Copperfield told police that he had refused to empty his pockets, and so apparently the teens just fled with what they had.  But Copperfield later told the Palm Beach Post that (I’m quoting the AP story here) "he turned his pockets inside out to reveal nothing in them, even though he was carrying his passport, wallet and cell phone."  Copperfield was quoted as saying, "Call it reverse pickpocketing."

I don’t know — I may call it "spin."  Maybe Copperfield did use his powers of illusion to bamboozle a gang of armed robbers, but that’s not what he told the police.  And shouldn’t he have just made them all disappear?  That would have been better for his two lovely assistants, that’s for sure (although they did get their stuff back).

Copperfield was able to produce the car’s license plate (the number, not the actual plate) for police after the robbers departed.  Police later arrested the four teenagers and they are being held without bond, as they are apparently unable to escape from a locked room.

Link: AP via SFGate.com