Dallas Cop Caught in 4K in Apple Store Theft Spree
Credit: Apple Northpark Center Dallas [Apple]
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A Dallas police officer who also worked off-duty as security at three Dallas Apple Stores has turned himself in after a warrant was issued, accusing him of stealing merchandise from the three stores.
CBS News Texas reports that Dallas Police Department Senior Corporal Le Chau worked overnight security at Apple’s NorthPark Center, Knox Street, and Galleria Dallas stores.
Le Chau was wanted for a charge of theft $30,000—$150,000, which is a third-degree felony. He was taken into custody after turning himself in at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, July 10.
Suspicions were initially raised when Apple’s global security division found that those stores were experiencing so many thefts that all three stores had made it onto Apple’s top 10 list of retail stores experiencing high inventory count variances.
After installing additional cameras and reviewing surveillance footage, Apple security caught Chau “concealing approximately 25 pieces of merchandise on one occasion,” even hiding Apple products “underneath his Dallas Police Raid jacket.” He was also recorded using a trash picker to snag a box of AirPod Pros on a top shelf.
Cameras documented Chau bringing backpacks and duffle bags into the stores during his shifts.
The Dallas Police Senior Corporal was allegedly selling Apple products on Facebook Marketplace. The value of the stolen items was estimated at $37,806.
“In this case, it turns out the company brought in its cameras that he didn’t know about,” said Dr. Timothy Bray, a University of Texas at Dallas criminologist. “That’s how they tripped him up.”
Bray said those in charge of security often think they’ll get away with theft.
“One of the big formulas for committing a crime is where there is an opportunity, there was an absence of a capable guardian, in fact, this was the capable guardian they were looking to, and there’s a motivated offender,” Bray said.
Agents with the FBI Dallas office detained and questioned Chau at DFW Airport in April, along with his wife. The Dallas Police Department has placed Chau on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Chau has been a member of the Dallas Police force since 2013 and was assigned to the Basic Academy.
Chau’s attorney declined to comment, and Chau has since been released on bond.
iPhone Leads Cops to Gun Theft Suspect
As you might expect, the Dallas thefts aren’t the only recent crimes related to Apple and its products.
A Washington man has been sentenced to 84 months in prison for his participation in the 2023 burglary of a pawn shop in which dozens of firearms were taken. After a subsequent car crash in which the defendant was allegedly involved, an iPhone left behind led to his arrest.
Fox Baltimore reports that the left-behind iPhone displayed an “open GPS route” leading directly to the defendant’s home address.
Vincent “Vedo” Lee Alston, 23, of D.C., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking. Alston and four co-conspirators robbed the A&D Pawn Shop in Glen Burnie, Maryland, on December 13, 2023, said US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro in a press release.
Alston and his cohorts drove from Washington, DC, to the pawnshop in two vehicles, including a stolen red Hyundai.
During their escape, the defendants crashed the Hyundai on I-295 South at Kenilworth Avenue Northeast. Surveillance footage showed Alston and two other suspects exiting the car.
Police found eight guns left in the car after the crash, along with the iPhone that led police to the defendant’s home. The iPhone included texts planning the burglary.
