Thursday, September 01, 2011, 02:57 pm

Two suspects plead not guilty in lost prototype iPhone 4 case

By Sam Oliver

The two suspects charged in the 2010 incident where prototype iPhone 4 was lost in a bar have pleaded not guilty to charges of misdemeanor theft.

Brian Hogan, the man who allegedly found the prototype in a California bar, and Robert Sage Wallower both pleaded not guilty before Superior Court Judge Jonathan Karesh in Redwood City on Thursday, according to CNet. Wallower was also charged with possessing stolen property, to which he also pleaded not guilty.

A pretrial conference for both men has been scheduled for October 11, while a trial date has been set for November 28. Both men were released on their own recognizance without bail.

Police allegedly found the prototype iPhone 4 in Hogan's possession after his roommate called Apple Security out of fear she might be considered an accomplice in the incident. That tip resulted in police preparing a search warrant for Hogan's apartment.

Though Hogan and Wallower will stand trial, the website that ultimately bought the prototype iPhone 4, Gizmodo, does not face charges. The San Mateo County district attorney's office decided last month not to bring charges against any emplyees of the website or its parent company, Gawker Media.

Gawker allegedly paid $5,000 to obtain the device for an exclusive story run by Gizmodo. The website revealed the design of the non-functional hardware, and even disassembled it to confirm the components were Apple's, prior to the official unveiling of the device.


A similar incident occurred again this year, when a new iPhone prototype allegedly went missing at the end of July in San Francisco, Calif. Apple apparently tracked the missing prototype to a bar, but have not been able to locate the hardware.