A viral video posted on social media shows a suspect pocketing dozens of iPhones in broad daylight Monday at an Apple Store in Oakland, California.
Wearing black clothing and a ski mask to obscure his identity, the suspect yanked the iPhones out of their display stations around 10:27 a.m., KRON 4 reported Wednesday. The suspect then walked past a police car while exiting the Emeryville Apple Store, according to the outlet. Later Wednesday afternoon, police said that three people were arrested in connection to the theft and that 75 iPhones had been stolen, according to The Berkeley Scanner.
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🚨Astronaut peacefully stealing iPhones from Apple Store in Oakland, California pic.twitter.com/9kzF6nz0zY
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) February 7, 2024
Police said an officer did not stop the suspect because no one was inside the car at the time of the crime. Authorities had staged the unoccupied car in front of the store to deter criminal activity, according to the outlet. (RELATED: ‘I Love DC’: Woman Crawls Home After Being Beaten, Maced And Robbed)
“The police vehicle out front of the store is the department’s ‘ghost car’ which is parked at various locations to be a police presence, to try and prevent criminal activity. No EPD Officer was present was [sic] this crime occurred,” the Emeryville Police Department (EPD) said.
Violent crime in Oakland surged 21% from 2022 to 2023, according to crime statistics. Robberies increased 38% and burglaries rose 23%.
Several Oakland businesses recently closed due to the city’s crime wave. In-N-Out Burger announced the impending closure of its sole location in Oakland as a result of “ongoing issues with crime,” while Denny’s abruptly shuttered its location in January due to safety concerns.
According to the tech website Komando, stolen iPhones can not be used by thieves due to safety features implemented by Apple. Demo iPhones only respond to the “Find My iPhone” feature once removed from their Apple Store location, the outlet noted.