Kariem McFarlin, a 35 year old man, was arrested and charged with the July 17th burglary of the late Steve Jobs’ home in Palo Alto, California. The man admitted to the crime, after police tracked him down, when he powered up computers stolen from the house. The late Jobs, is a former Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) executive, who continues to make headlines, even after his death.
More than $60,000 worth of computers and other merchandise was stolen from the home during the burglary, according to the Santa Clara County DA’s office.
The thief was tracked down, and arrested, when he powered up some of the stolen computer equipment. The computers communicated with Apple servers upon being powered up, and alerted Apple’s security. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), in turn, contacted Palo Alto police, and they were able to track the computers to McFarlin.
Upon being arrested, McFarlin confessed to the crime, and led police to a storage locker. Inside, police found Jobs’ wallet, some credit cards, and a letter. According to CNET author, Lance Whitney, McFarlin claims he did not know who the home belonged to, until he read the letter. The man said he had robbed the home out of desparation, due to the fact that he was homeless and living in his car. He was so inexperienced at this type of crime, he had to use Google to figure out a way to get rid of the jewelry he had stolen.
The house was temporarily vacant, due to ongoing renovations, which made it an easier target than other homes in the neighborhood. Scott Tsui, the Santa Clara deputy district attorney, told Cnet, “The house was under renovation, so you know how that can be. I didn’t see the house myself, but I’m not sure if the conditions of the perimeter were as secure as they would have been with a regular house. I think that may have given the defendant an opportunity to break in.”
Either way, McFarlin will definitely consider this a lesson learned. Next time, he will not power up stolen computers, but will rather sell them to someone else. On a side note, he will no longer have to worry about being homeless, or living in his car, as Santa Clara County is currently feeding him 3 meals per day, and providing him with a bed to sleep in.
