Crime blotter: California Apple Store theft suspects in court

The Bluewater Apple Store in the UK

The video of a thief ransacking an Apple Store in the Bay Area in January went so viral that crime alert app Citizen has been using the video in its social media advertising.

Two men charged in the thefts were due to appear in court on the week of May 20, SFGate.com reported.

According to Alameda County criminal docket records, bail remains at $100,000 each for the two defendants in the case, which was where it was set back in February. The two men are due again in court on June 27 for a pretrial hearing.

Both men have been charged with second-degree burglary, circumstance in aggravation, grand theft, organized retail theft in concert, and receiving stolen property.

Teen pleads guilty to burning down home over Find My iPhone misunderstanding

A 20-year-old man in Denver has pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder in a 2020 incident in which five people lost their lives in a house fire.

None of the people in the house were involved in the theft of the iPhone.

According to WKCR, the then-16-year-old had set fire to the family's home as a result of a misunderstanding over a stolen iPhone. He had followed a Find My iPhone signal to the vicinity of the house, planning the fire along with two friends, who had previously pled guilty.

Ironically, police used cell phone location data to identify the suspects.

Two arrested in multi-state series of Apple Watch thefts

Pennsylvania State Troopers have arrested two men from California who they say carried out a multi-state theft of more than 30 Apple Watches.

According to The Delaware County Times, police say the two men were arrested at a Target where they were "attempting swap authentic Apple watches for fakes." The Troopers believe the two men performed the scam in as many as nine states.

The items were recovered from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia stores.

UK Apple Store thief who pushed employee gets 19 months

A man who robbed the Apple Store in Bluewater, in Britain, in November and pushed over an employee has been sentenced to a year and seven months in jail.

According to News Shopper, the 24-year-old man "pushed pushed the employee to the floor" before stealing an iPhone. The man, arrested a few days after the theft, had been on probation for a similar crime.

Accused iPhone scammers arrested in Wyoming

Two men from New York have been arrested for what authorities say is a scam in which they steal identities from people in Wyoming and Montana, buy iPhones and open Verizon accounts in the victims' names.

According to Cowboy State Daily, authorities say one of the men arrested was the main scammer, while the other was the getaway driver.

The scheme came to a head in April when a police officer confronted the suspect, leading to a car chase. The suspect dropped a phone on his way out of the parking lot, and a Verizon store employee "used the dropped phone's Siri function to call the store," which made clear that the phone's account belonged to one of the theft victims.

Man tracks stolen AirPods Pro to Iraq

An X user named Billy Jansen has been tracking a pair of stolen AirPods Pro, and in early May, he noticed that they had reached an unlikely place: Najaf, Iraq:

Jansen later posted that "the amount of people from Iraq that have reached out and offered to buy new ones or track them down' is unreal. It's not necessary, obviously, but people are so kind."

Series of iPhone and iPad thefts by "porch pirates" reported in Florida

Police are investigating several thefts by "porch pirates" of boxes containing Apple products in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

According to WQCS, at least five thefts of packages containing iPhones or iPads were reported between late April and early May.

Police offered advice for residents, including having their packages shipped to their workplaces, post offices, and FedEx locations or requiring a signature upon delivery.

AT&T Store employee charged in AirPods scam

An Indiana man who worked at an AT&T Store has been arrested for his alleged part in a scam involving AirPods.

According to NWI Times, the man spent more than a month "creating fictitious transactions," in which he would credit fake refunds to gift cards or his personal cards. This act was caught on video surveillance. He faces one count of embezzlement/theft.

Man caught trying to use stolen card to buy iPhone

A man in New Jersey was arrested after he attempted to use a stolen credit card at a Walmart to purchase an iPhone.

According to Hudson County View, the man was caught after the card got stuck in the credit card reader, and he began "tampering" with the machine. The man then falsely identified himself to the police, who discovered that he was wanted for another crime in his home state of Pennsylvania.

The man was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card, credit card theft, hindering apprehension by providing false information to the police and being a fugitive from justice.