A brazen Apple Store theft has resulted in the suspects’ luxury BMW ruined, and the reported criminal mastermind behind bars.
The theft took place on September 6, just after midnight, in Temecula, California. The Temecula Police Department was notified about an alarm going off at the nearby Apple Store and drove over to investigate, reports The Huffington Post.
Responding units found the security gate in front of the store destroyed, and also found substantial damage to the business, but no suspects.
When they reviewed the security footage of the Apple Store theft, police saw a blue BMW X5 SUV crash through the plate-glass window of the store.
Three suspects got out of the car and grabbed items from nearby display tables, focusing on mobile devices instead of the significantly higher priced MacBooks.
While the three crooks grabbed their loot, the getaway driver attempted to back out of the store, only to find that the security gate had fallen down, blocking their escape route. The driver repeatedly smashed the back of the luxury SUV into the gate until it gave way, allowing the BMW to leave the damaged store and drive away.
ABC News notes that the car was too badly damaged to drive away, so the suspects abandoned it a short while later. As for the suspects? The BMW’s owner, Equonne Howard, 22, has been arrested after he was discovered walking near the Apple Store the next morning with the keys to his car in his pocket.
The investigation to catch the other three suspects is ongoing; police have not released information on the inventory that was stolen from the Apple Store. Howard, who is already out on parole for previous convictions of second-degree burglary and robbery, has been charged with five felony counts in relation to the Apple Store theft.
