- Tofiq Ghulam Sarwar, 31, faces obstruction charge in Salt Lake City.
- His brother Tamim Ghulam Sarwar, 29, charged with aggravated robbery at an AT&T store Feb. 27.
- Police reported finding stolen items and weapons at their residence; both brothers were arrested.
SALT LAKE CITY — The brother of a man accused of robbing a Salt Lake phone store at gunpoint is now also facing criminal charges.
Tofiq Ghulam Sarwar, 31, of South Salt Lake, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, and four misdemeanor driving violations.
Tamim Ghulam Sarwar, 29, who lives with brother, was charged last month with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; and being a restricted person in possession of a gun, a third-degree felony.
On Feb. 27, an employee at the AT&T Store, 2254 S. 1300 East, was moving merchandise when Tamim Sarwar "pulled a handgun out of his pocket and pointed it at her. The man told her to go to the back of the store and open the safes," according to charging documents.
Sarwar continued to yell at the employee and became more agitated when she told him she was unable to open some of the safes, the charges state. He then told her to "count down from five minutes."
"He told her, 'If you want to ride the bus home and go see your kids, I'd better hear you counting,'" according to the charges.
Police were contacted after Sarwar left the store. Officers then went to the area where some of the stolen items were "pinging," which was near the townhome where the Sarwars were living, the charges say. Through a sliding glass door, officers "saw numerous white iPhone boxes on the kitchen counter" of their residence.
'While executing the search warrant of the residence, (police) discovered a firearm, an AR-15 style rifle, in Tamim's room. However, it did not match the silver handgun used during the robbery," the charges state.
While officers were watching the townhome, they reported spotting Tofiq Sarwar sitting in a car in front.
On March 2, both brothers were stopped by police near 845 E. 4500 South and taken into custody. During a search of the vehicle, two unopened AirPod boxes were found.
"Tofiq had said several times prior to the search that all of the items in the vehicle were his but recanted when the headphones were found inside," the charges state.
Police determined that 35 cellular devices and 27 accessories worth nearly $30,000 were stolen from the store.
