August 15, 2012

Police: Burglar made off with Steve Jobs' wallet

Apple investigators identified the suspect when he used his iTunes account to connect to the Internet on devices he stole from Jobs' home.

The Associated Press

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The burglar who broke into Steve Jobs' house made off with the Apple Inc. co-founder's wallet with a dollar inside and his driver's license in addition to Apple gadgets and jewelry, according to a police report released Tuesday.

click image to enlarge

An Oct. 5, 2011, photo shows Apple founder Steve Jobs' home in Palo Alto, Calif.

AP

The details of the July 17 theft, and the suspect's alleged confession, were reported Tuesday by the San Jose Mercury News.

The suspect, Kariem McFarlin, 35, targeted the unoccupied Palo Alto home because it was under renovation, authorities said. When construction crews left, he hopped a fence and found a spare key, according to the report. McFarlin apparently realized he was in Jobs' house when he saw a letter addressed to him.

Also taken in the 15-hour overnight heist were iPhones, iPads, iPods, Mac computers, Cristal Champagne and $60,000 worth of Tiffany & Co. jewelry. More bizarre items included Monster Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, a Ninja Blender and a Sodastream soda maker.

McFarlin sold some of the jewelry to a Pennsylvania dealer and gave the iPads to a daughter and a friend, according to the report.

"There's certain things you don't do, and burglary is one of them. But burglarizing an icon like that, that just puts yourself pretty much in the deep hole," McFarlin's former boss, Ross Rankin, told the San Jose Mercury News.

McFarlin was arrested at his Alameda home earlier this month after Apple investigators identified him after he connected to the Internet on the stolen devices with his iTunes account, police said. McFarlin acknowledged to police that he broke into other homes and also wrote an apology letter to Jobs' widow, according to the police report.

He remains jailed on $500,000 bail and is expected to appear in court Monday. He faces almost eight years in prison if convicted. His public defender did not return a call for comment.

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