Apple Crime Log: ‘Grave-Robbing’ MacBook Thieves, Phony Walmart Vests, and Georgia on My Mind (Not That One)
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It is once again time to take a look at the world of Apple-related crime stories. In this edition, cops track AirPods to find a stolen car, heartless thieves steal a MacBook from a deceased couple, a Florida man dons a Walmart vest to swipe Apple Watches, and a crook tries to pass off a piece of plaster as an iPhone.
Cops Track AirPods to Find Stolen Car
In mid-August, a bad actor stole a vehicle left idling outside of a school in Georgia (the state, not the country), but luckily, police were able to find the stolen wheels, thanks to a pair of AirPods the owner had left behind in the car and video obtained from a nearby Tesla.
Fox 5 Atlanta reports that a woman left the car idling outside while taking her son to school. Her momentary absence from the vehicle gave the thief the opportunity to leap into the car and drive away.
Happily, the woman’s AirPods, which she had left in the vehicle, allowed police to track its location to a local subdivision, where the car had been abandoned. Police discovered that the perp had been dropping items during his getaway, which included the tracked AirPods and the victim’s wallet.
A Tesla parked in the school’s parking lot had captured clear video of the theft, allowing police to identify the man, who was attempting to hitchhike on a nearby street.
Police arrested Donald Murray. Murray claimed he asked a “female” for permission to borrow the vehicle and she said yes, and he planned to drive it to Gainesville. However, police didn’t believe his story, as a review of the Tesla video did not show any women near Murray when the vehicle was taken.
The stolen vehicle was returned to its owner.
Heartless Thieves Steal MacBook, Luxury Cars, More from Home of Couple Killed in Africa
Just when you think criminals couldn’t get any lower, a pair of thieves stole several items, including luxury vehicles and a MacBook, from the home of a couple that had been killed the week before in a helicopter crash in Kenya. Geybert Alexander Garcia, 40, and Melany Perdomo, 24, were arrested in late August and charged with the thefts, according to NBC Miami.
Police say the burglary happened at some point between August 20 and 22, and was reported by the couple’s housekeeper on August 23. The deceased victims were Adam Hlavaty and Henry Parra, who had been in an August 19 helicopter crash in Kenya that killed multiple people with ties to South Florida.
The victims’ home on Valencia Avenue was ransacked, with several items being stolen, including personal and business documents, jewelry, electronics, artwork, a Range Rover and a Porsche Taycan, and the aforementioned MacBook.
Cops nabbed the felonious duo after the MacBook and a spare key for the Range Rover were tracked to an address in Hialeah, where some of the stolen items were found. Both were charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, grand theft of a vehicle, and grand theft.
The male of the couple, Geybert Alexander Garcia, had previous arrests for burglarizing homes, money laundering, and dealing in stolen property (busy boy). Garcia’s attorney, Paul Basile, produced a document stating that the victims had granted him authorization to use the vehicles.
“Oh I gotta see this,” Judge Mindy Glazer said. “Really? Before they went on their vacation, they decided to give Mr. Garcia authorization to use their vehicles, Mr. Garcia, who has a criminal history?”
“Judge, I can only go by the information that’s provided by the family,” Basile responded.
“Yeah, I would not give that much weight,” Glazer said.
“It’s my understanding that the notary is actually a friend of the victim,” Basile said.
Detectives, as well as a friend of the victims, testified in court that they believed the document was fraudulent. The friend also testified that Hlavaty and Parra’s home was damaged when it was broken into, as thieves had destroyed a door and a camera and home security system had been ripped out.
Judge Glazer ordered Garcia held without bond, while Perdomo was staying put in jail on an immigration hold.
Man Dons Walmart Vest in Attempt to Steal Apple Watches
Detectives at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office report that 42-year-old Devan Cherry walked into the Fletcher Avenue Walmart store in Tampa, Florida, on August 11 and grabbed a Walmart vest in an attempt to pose as an employee and steal from the store. However, he was forced to flee with only the vest for his troubles.
Cherry then went to a second Walmart on Nebraska Avenue, where he successfully used the stolen vest to pose as an employee, walking out of the store with three Apple Watches valued at $837. (Must’ve been SE models, or else Walmart was having a helluva sale that day.)
Unfortunately for Cherry, detectives caught up with him as he was getting into his vehicle, and a search of his vehicle turned up the stolen watches, as well as a firearm.
Cherry faces multiple felony charges, including grand theft, a felon in possession of a firearm, and burglary of an occupied structure.
Georgia Man Arrested for iPhone Counterfeiting
A man in Georgia (the country, not the state) was arrested after he allegedly attempted a rather bold form of iPhone counterfeiting by making a plaster object meant to resemble an iPhone and trying to pawn it at a Tbilisi pawnshop.
According to Georgia Today, investigators determined that the man was part of a conspiracy that had pawned “six imitation mobile phone devices at different pawnshops, causing significant financial damage to the companies.”
The suspect was arrested at a Tbilisi pawnshop while attempting to pawn a mobile phone with a fake code. When police opened a box seized as evidence, they found inside a plaster object made to resemble a mobile phone instead of an actual device.
The unidentified individual was charged with repeated fraud, attempted fraud, and the production and use of forged documents, the Interior Ministry told the publication. Hopefully, he’ll have time to work on his sculpting skills while in the hoosegow.
