Crime blotter: Apple Store thefts in New York, California, Las Vegas

In the latest Apple Crime Blotter, Apple Store kicks out a reporter, a tech company exec stole and sold MacBooks, and details of an iPhone scam in Iran.

The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.

Another "brazen" Apple Store theft, this time in New York

There's another story of thieves stealing items from an Apple Store in broad daylight. This time, it happened in Nanuet, N.Y., in Rockland County.

According to Lohud.com, three thieves entered the store on February 27, stealing iPhone, iPad and MacBook display items.

Video taken of the theft depicted customers calling the police. Police also told the outlet that a pair of backpacks containing electronics that may have come from the robbery were discovered nearby.

Juvenile arrested for Apple Store theft in Las Vegas, on same day Tim Cook visited

Las Vegas police arrested a juvenile in mid-February after he was caught on video stealing from the Apple Store in Summerlin, Nev. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports thethefts took place just hours after CEO Tim Cook visited the store when Cook was in town for Super Bowl LVIII.

A customer filmed the thefts, which appeared to have been carried out by two people:

Victor Joecks, a columnist for the Review-Journal, claimed the theft and other recent ones like it is "revealing the ruinous results of soft-on-crime policies," while also noting that "the video shows around a dozen employees standing toward the back of the store."

The Apple Store in Palo Alto, Calif., in 2018, was also robbed shortly after a visit from Cook.

Charges in viral Emeryville Apple Store robbery, along with several other thefts

The theft of severaliPhones from an Apple Store in Emeryville, Calif., which included the thief running past a police car, went viral in early February.

The man accused in that theft, along with another man, has been charged with participation in seven separate Apple Store thefts between November and February. According to CBS News Bay Area, the thefts were from the locations in Berkeley and Emeryville and totaled iPhones and MacBooks valued at $329,798.

The two were charged with numerous felony counts of commercial burglary, grand theft, and misdemeanor counts of organized retail theft in concert.

Reporter kicked out of Apple Store

A journalist who visited the Emeryville Apple Store to ask questions about the thefts was kicked out by store personnel. San Francisco Standard reporter Garrett Leahy went to the Emeryville store in mid-February to ask questions.

Store employees, he said in the story, "clammed up" when he asked about the viral thefts, while a manager asked him to call the corporate office, which Leahy already had. Then, when the reporter started speaking to customers, he was asked to leave.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave the store," the employee told Leahy. "You're making unnecessary noise, and it's distracting our customers."

He then tried the Berkeley Apple Store and was quickly kicked out of there as well.

Tech company employee pleads guilty to stealing MacBooks

An information technology executive at a Bay Area-based "cloud-based machine data analytics company" pled guilty in late January to federal charges of conspiracy to transport stolen property interstate. Per the Department of Justice announcement, the man ordered and sold at least 141 MacBooks for more than $535,000.

The 49-year-old IT professional sold the computers to another individual, who "shipped them to buyers outside the state of California," the government said. He faces a maximum penalty of five years and a $250,000 fine.

Police warn against crossing the street while wearing Apple Vision Pro

There are still no significant reports of crimes involving Apple Vision Pro, whether thefts from Apple Stores or off users' heads.

However, one big city police department did warn in late February about the dangers of crossing the street while wearing the device.

According to NBC News, the San Diego Police Department issued a warning after a viral video showed a man wearing the Vision Pro crossing through an intersection on foot. In the video, he is walking near police who are making an arrest, although the Vision Pro-wearer was not himself arrested.

"Keep those virtual experiences on the sidewalk, folks, and let's cross streets the old-fashioned way - with our eyes wide open to the real world, unobstructed and without distractions!" the SDPD's Instagram post said.

"Thousands" fall for iPhone scam in Iran

A company based in Iran offered half-price deals on iPhones over several months, with major celebrities and sports figures in that country endorsing the offers. However, the offer was a scam; the iPhones never arrived, and the entrepreneur behind it fled the country.

The Financial Times reports "thousands" of Iranians fell for the scam, and some have reacted by picketing at Tehran police headquarters.

Apple, in accordance with sanctions, does not directly do business in Iran, although iPhones have been imported into the country and can be found in stores there. While Apple services are not offered there either, "tech-savvy users have found innovative ways to sidestep the restrictions," the report states.

Texas man accused of stealing iPhone, selling it to GameStop

Law enforcement in Harris County, Tex., are looking for an employee of a shipping company, who they say stole an iPhone and sold it to a local GameStop. The same man is being investigated for possessing "different victims' identifying information and identification cards in an attempt to commit criminal acts."

According to the Facebook page of the Harris County Constable, the man is wanted for felony theft, fraudulent use of identifying information and tampering with a government document.

Girl fighting brain tumor has iPad stolen, gifted new one

A two-year-old girl in Louisiana who is battling a brain tumor had her iPad stolen from a luggage wagon outside her hospital room. The Mirror writes the child's mother posted about the theft on a St. Jude Hospital's Facebook page. Soon after, an organization called the Miracle at Manchester Foundation sent the girl a new iPad.