Crime blotter: No Apple Vision Pro crime wave, at least not yet

The Apple Store on Bay Street in Emeryville, CA

The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.

In the first two weeks that the Apple Vision Pro has been on the market, there have been no known reports of significant crimes involving the new device. There have been no news reports thus far of Apple Vision Pro units stolen from Apple Stores, of the Vision Pro being stolen off of anyone’s head in public, or of the Vision Pro being used during the commission of any crime.

There was a viral video of a man wearing the Vision Pro while driving a Tesla, after which police appeared to arrive, but the man who posted the video later admitted that the video was a “skit” and the police weren’t there for him.

There was also a report of Apple Vision Pro users returning to Germany and facing possible taxation or even confiscation of the devices.

A video went viral the first week of February of a man running through a California Apple Store, stealing several iPhone display units, and then running out of the store unimpeded. He was even shown running past a police car that was parked outside of the store.

According to KRON, the theft took place at the Apple Store in the Bay Area suburb of Emeryville, despite a description on the video placing the crime in Oakland. The police car, Emeryville police told the TV station, was a “ghost car,” placed in various locations as a deterrent, and no officer was present at the scene.

A subsequent report by WION stated that three people have been arrested, in connection with a series of Apple Store thefts at the Emeryville store, and that one of the thefts had “gone viral,” with a description matching the one in the video.

A Pennsylvania woman is charged with placing an AirTag on her boyfriend’s car, which gave away his location to a group of robbers who later murdered him. Law and Crime explains the robbery and murder took place after the boyfriend won a $3,000 sports gambling parlay.

The woman has been charged with second-degree murder, robbery, and conspiracy in the death of her boyfriend.

A California police department arrested a man found in possession of 20 stolen Apple products, including iPad Pros and Apple Pencils, as well as $10,000 in cash.

According to Fox 40, West Sacramento Police Department believes the man stole from two Target stores on the day he was arrested and thefts of eight other Target stores. In the last of those, per the report, the man attempted to return four Apple Pencils and two iPads to a Target and when the returns were rejected, he tried to run away.

The stolen items were later found in his car, police said.

Police are looking for a group of thieves who steal AirPod Max headphones off of the heads of pedestrians, while the thieves ride mopeds and Citi Bikes.

ABC 7 reports the thieves have struck 21 times since September, mostly operating in Manhattan and Queens. The thieves, per the report, “know to turn them off or reset them after a steal and they do sell them again.”

In one of the most prominent Apple retail thefts of 2023, dozens of people looted the Walnut Street Apple Store in Philadelphia on September 26, as part of protests after charges were dropped in connection with a police-involved shooting.

That wave of looting led to more than 60 arrests, as well as often-shared video footage of the looters destroying the iPhones once they realized they did not work.

Following that and other high-profile thefts in Center City Philadelphia in the last year, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced the launch of the city’s first Organized Retail & House Theft Task Force.

“I do want you to understand there’s been a false narrative out there for some time, repeated and repeated and repeated by certain people that the DA’s Office does not prosecute retail theft below a certain value. That is false. That has always been false That has never been the case,” Krasner said to NBC Philadelphia.

“What the policy actually said was that below a certain dollar value we would prosecute these cases as summaries which we have done. And a summary offense could put you in jail for up to 90 days. It’s actually no joke.”

Police in Washington state have arrested a man for the 2021 theft of $1,600 worth of iPads from a high school.

According to The Chronicle, a 58-year-old man has been arrested and charged with the crime. He had been arrested for the crime in February of 2022 but failed to appear for a preliminary hearing the following month, and a bench warrant led to his arrest, two years later on February 12. Charges included second-degree burglary, second-degree theft, and an unrelated charge of driving with a suspended license.

A Kansas woman’s iPhone and debit card were stolen, leading to fraudulent purchases of $1,458. WIBW reports police filed a report of theft of lost or mislaid property and criminal use of a financial card. The theft took place in Manhattan, Kans., near Kansas State University.

The former captain of India’s cricket squad is expressing concerns after the recent theft of his iPhone from his home, including about “sensitive data” that may have been lost.

According to News 9, Sourav Ganguly, who now works as Director of Cricket of the club team Delhi Capitals, filed a police report after the iPhone was stolen. The device, per the report, “contains contacts of some prominent personalities which can be stolen and misused.”