Image via Complex Original
Since the i-Boom in the mid 2000’s, techies have gone to serious lengths to get their hands on Apple’s latest products. The wild demand for Apple gadgets has created a very profitable blackmarket where people can move iPods, iPads, MacBooks, and iPhones for easy profit. To maintain the supply, people have taken to breaking into the company's retail stores in attempts to steal thousands of dollars in merchandise. And while a minor few have succeeded, many have failed—miserably. From unsuccessful break-ins to a paradoxical life saving encounter, check out the best of the worst with the 12 Ridiculous Failed Apple Store Robberies.
CNET E-I-C Encounters Apple Store Robber
Store location: Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA
Date: May 16, 2006
Former CNET Editor-in-Chief, Scott Ard, was waiting in line with other Apple fans to pick up the then-new black MacBook, until he noticed a suspicious customer in front of him stuffing a bunch of iPod accessories under his jacket. He was confronted by Apple employees at the front door and tried muscling his way past them, but as he ran down Market Street, the weight of the accessories slowed him down and four people tackled him to the ground. Here’s a tip: If you plan on dashing down the block with stolen merchandise, lighten the load.
Cop Saves Thief's Life
Store location:Derby Street & Hingham, MA
Date: Dec. 14, 2006
Joseph M. Dillon, 48, hurled a monkey wrench through the front glass window of the Derby Street Apple Store and snatched $19,600 worth of iPods from the counter. He then suffered a huge laceration on his arm trying to lug a pink laundry basket filled with gadgets through the shattered entrance.
Officer Eric Schraut stopped Dillon’s Jeep Cherokee for having a brown plastic shopping bag over its license plate and noticed blood all over the vehicle's interior. “He was very lucky he was stopped by police or he could have bled to death,” said Lt. George Greenwood.
Store Employees Steal 332 iPhones
Store location: Rockingham Park, Salem, NH
Date: March 26, 2008
Apple Store employees Joshua Garrand, 28, and Christopher Nashed, 22, somehow swiped 332 iPhones from their store and were attempting to sell them on the black market before store managers knocked their hustle. Police did an investigation and took both men into custody at their homes two months later. Garrand was held at the Essex County Jail on a fugitive charge and Nashed was held on $250,000 bail at the Rockingham County Jail. Prosecutor Bob Prince thinks the duo might have taken almost double the amount: "There's the possibility that as much as 700 iPhones have been taken." Our question: Why were they still working there during the investigation? Biggie said best: "Never sell where you rest at."
Ocean's 11-Style Scheme Foiled
Store location: Tice Corner Woodcliff Lake, NJ
Date: June 17, 2008
Four robbers entered a furniture and used sledgehammers and saws to gain entrance to the Tice Corner Apple Store next door. The thieves triggered the store alarm and surveillance cameras caught the foursome fleeing with iPods, MacBooks, and iPhones stuffed in several duffle bags. The cops caught two sitting in their getaway car close to the crime scene. The police's K9 unit found the third thieve hiding in a sewer drain, while the fourth (and obviously the smartest) member managed to escape.
Tampa Bay Duo Nabbed in Parking Lot
Store location: International Plaza, Tampa, FL
Date: Dec. 6, 2010
Apple security cameras's captured three men (Julio Sotolonge-Chang, Yusuan Molina-Aleman, and a third unknown suspect) stealing three iPads at a Tampa , FL. Apple Store. Undercover officers working in the mall as part of an increased security operation nicknamed "Operation: Deck the Malls" got the call and caught up with two of the burglars in a silver Range Rover in the West Shore Plaza parking lot. The third culprit managed to escape. Investigators discovered more than just stolen Apple products in the truck. They also found over $10,000 worth of products, including watches, perfume, jewelry, and high-end clothes. Apple's eye in the sky sees all.
Smash & Grab iPad Theft Foiled
Store location: The Gateway, Salt Lake City, Utah
Date:;Aug. 16, 2010
Three thieves smashed the front window of the Salt Lake City flagship store in an attempt to swipe three iPads. Unfortunately, these idiots didn't have a look-out guy. Bystanders and a gardner watering grass outside of the store chased the trio and informed local authorities of their whereabouts. One of them was handcuffed and hauled off in the back of a squad car, while the other two were escorted back to the store to give the store manager an apology. Makes you wonder what kind of criminal justice they're enforcing in Mormon Country.
Parolee Caught With Headphones in Pants
Store location: Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica, CA
Date: July 16, 2009
Aman Teferi, 23, had his eyes on a pair of $150 headphones in the Santa Monica Apple Store. So what did he do instead of purchasing it? Go to the back of the store and stuff a pair in his pants. Once he left the store, security scooped him up outside and he was placed under arrest for petty theft, possession of a controlled substance, and violation of parole.
Teen Bandits Return to Crime Scene
Store location: SanTan Village, Gilbert, AZ
Date: July 6, 2010
An Apple employee called the cops after noticing 18-year-old Derek Hunter and his 16-year-old partner acting suspiciously. Once in police custody, officers noticed the duo matched the description of two robbery suspects who allegedly stole over $9,000 worth of products from the same store a month earlier. Police reported that all stolen items were recovered and that both teenagers faced burglary and criminal damage charges if proven guilty. Really? Out of 236 Apple Stores in the U.S., they couldn't hit another location?
Sprints Employees Stop iPad Burglar, Get Fired
Store location: Cherry Creek, Denver, CO
Date: April 29, 2010
Who knew being a Good Samaritan could cost you your 9-to-5? Just ask former Sprint employees Paul Shoemaker and Mike McGhee. Both men were on their lunch break when they heard Apple security screaming, "Help! Somebody stop that guy!" The robber had $500 of Apple software in his jacket and was chased through the mall until Shoemaker and McGhee tackled him in the parking garage. A few days later, Sprint headquarters did an investigation and fired both men for employee misconduct, stating, "Employees shouldn't confront thieves."
Off-Duty Cop Punched by Teen Thief
Store location: Mayfair Mall, WauwatosaWI
Date: Jan. 31, 2011
Milwaukee County Sheriff Deputy, Lt. William Brown, was shopping on his day off when he saw a teenage boy stealing an iPod Touch from the Apple Store in the Mayfair Mall. When he grabbed the teen’s arm and told him to drop the iPod, Brown took a punch to the face, and was forced to put the kid in a headlock until a second off-duty cop and mall security guard came to make the arrest. When asked if the unnamed assailant was aware he was a cop, Brown said, "Oh he definitely knew I was a law enforcement officer. I showed him my badge and I advised him I was a cop." See, the kids aren't alright.
San Diego Robbery Leaves One Man Dead
Store location: San Diego, CA
Date: April 4, 2011
Breaking into an Apple Store via its front glass windows seems to be the easiest way to enter. That's what two men and a woman did last April. As the trio was leaving, a gun battle between the security guard and the thieves ensued, leaving one man found dead in the getaway car hours later in a nearby parking lot. The other two accomplices were later caught and brought into custody.
Apple Store BMW Robbery
Store location: Temecula, CA.
Date: Sept. 6 2012
There were so many fails in this robbery, we're surprised it was even attempted in the first place. The group of men attempted to ram a brand new BMW X5 SUV through the front window of a Temecula, CA Apple Store. Once in, the thieves grabbed as many items as they could—not the bigger items, mind you, just small stuff like iPods. When they loaded back into the X5 and tried to back out of the store through the now-loaded security gate, the car's license plate was ripped off. Cops traced the license plate back to one Equonne Howard, who was later caught walking near the mall in which the robbery took place with the X5 keys in his pocket.