I'm Not Sorry I Broke a Student's Phone

So, I broke a student's phone. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, but let me explain. It wasn't an accident, and it was totally worth it. See, this kid, Alex, has been causing major issues in my class for months now. Not just talking during lessons or texting under the desk, full-on disruptive behavior that ruins learning time for everyone else. And when I try to talk to him about it? He gives me lip right back, making me look bad and turning his classmates against me. It's like he thinks nothing can touch him in there. Last week, we had a tech day planned where students would work on projects using their phones or laptops. Naturally, Alex comes in with his fancy new iPhone X (how does an eighth-grader even afford one of those anyway?). As soon as the bell rings and everyone settles down, he starts texting away like there's no tomorrow. I wait until I've asked for a bit more focus before approaching him. Telling him to put it away gets me that usual smirk followed by, 'Miss, you can't make me.' 'Watch me,' I say calmly and reach across the desk. His eyes go wide as he thinks I'm going to confiscate his phone. No such luck, instead of taking it from him, I slide my hand under his desk while he's looking at me in challenge. Now here comes the tricky part: I knew that Alex had a couple of cables tied together under there, likely for a prank or something else annoying. So, while pretending to pull out a textbook, I grab one of these makeshift traps and use it to yank his phone off the desk and down onto the floor with force. There's this split second where everything goes quiet, kids just staring at us in shock. And then, Alex starts laughing hysterically as if it’s all some kind of joke played on me instead of him getting what he deserved. But when I see his phone smashed into pieces, I have to fight back my grin. 'You okay there?' I ask sweetly while everyone watches this spectacle unfold. He tries to act like nothing happened by reaching for the debris, but it's clear from how fragile and expensive that thing was, he must be devastated. Afterwards, students tell me they've never seen a teacher handle Alex quite so effectively. And guess what? No more of his constant disruptions since then either! Yet here I am now, wondering if maybe there were better ways to deal with him than causing destruction? So, am I the asshole for breaking Alex's phone in front of everyone? Or was it justified given how toxic he'd been making my classroom environment?