Suspects Plead Not Guilty in Lost iPhone 4 Prototype Case

[wordoflife]

They did not make efforts to return the iPhone to the likely owner, which was a very simple thing to do.

I'm not defending the guy who found it, but my understanding is that he did try to return it. He called Apple many times and tried telling them, but (as usual) the Apple reps didn't know better about it and told him it was likely a fake. Again, I'm not defending him at all (he shouldn't have sold the phone), but I have to give him some credit. Unfortunately, it's hard to get a hold of an Apple exec (even more so if you are an average user who doesn't know much about Apple). If my parents/friends were to find the phone, they'd have no idea that they would need to email Steve ... they'd just call Apple (which is what the guy did).

 

[E.Lizardo]

I love the "no crime was committed" arguments. By their logic, I can simply take anything that is unattended without consequences. Utter nonsense.

Agreed.And the pathetic mental gymnastics of those who defend these thieves point to the moral and mental decay of society.Just so so sad.

 

[Tiggs]

Sad that even now they still can't take responsibility for their actions.

 

[Apple OC]

Agreed.And the pathetic mental gymnastics of those who defend these thieves point to the moral and mental decay of society.Just so so sad.

send them to Alcatraz ...

 

[SoFresh~SoClean]

If they found it and sold it, good for them and they should be cleared.

If they stole it and sold it, shame on them and they should be charged.

The thing with that is that this is an iPhone that at the time was alien to any iPhone you could buy at any Apple Store, so it immediately becomes a suspicious item. If you don't recognize that it is not what an iPhone should look like, you would not suspect it. But these are just assumptions.

 

[mbh]

I'm not defending the guy who found it, but my understanding is that he did try to return it. He called Apple many times and tried telling them, but (as usual) the Apple reps didn't know better about it and told him it was likely a fake. Again, I'm not defending him at all (he shouldn't have sold the phone), but I have to give him some credit. Unfortunately, it's hard to get a hold of an Apple exec (even more so if you are an average user who doesn't know much about Apple). If my parents/friends were to find the phone, they'd have no idea that they would need to email Steve ... they'd just call Apple (which is what the guy did).

Wouldn't it make more sense to leave a message for the owner of the phone, since it was already logged into his facebook page? He probably could have sent an email to the owner as well. Or he could have left it with the bar, since the owner would undoubtedly check back to see if it had turned up.

If you find a wallet on the sidewalk, do you call the manufacturer of the wallet and ask if they're missing a wallet, ignoring the driver's license within?

IMHO, the "Apple said they didn't want it" claim is completely bogus. Hogan's roommate didn't have any trouble contacting Apple security. The roommate was afraid of getting in trouble, since Hogan had used their computer/iTunes to plug in the phone. If the roommate was able to get Apple's attention, how much effort did Hogan put into it?

 

[DFA1000]

He should have returned it....but it bugs me the special attention corporations or people with money get in our legal system. If I had lost my phone there is no way the DA is going to take the time to prosecute if the guy who found it sold it. The economy has hit public agencies hard in CA, most regular people can't even get the police to do any investigation when their car is stolen!

 

[kdarling]

Wouldn't it make more sense to leave a message for the owner of the phone, since it was already logged into his facebook page?

He probably could have sent an email to the owner as well.

Or he could have left it with the bar, since the owner would undoubtedly check back to see if it had turned up.

+1 to all of that. He could've also called the bar and immediately found out that the owner was desperately searching for it.

He should never have taken the phone from the bar to begin with. Once he did, then he took on the responsibility of finding the owner.

Instead, it's pretty clear he wanted to sell it. Or was convinced to do so by his neighbor. I'm sure he regrets the heck out of that idea now!

It's astonishing how many people in this thread think of every excuse in the book for deliberately removing and selling something they found. I'm sure they'd have a different view if someone did it to them.

 

[bassett700]

Something found and sold shouldn't be a crime.

Let's apply your theory to an extreme example. I find your wallet in a restaurant. Under your thinking, it's now mine (despite the fact that I can identify the owner easily). Would you have a problem if I sold it to someone else? Your answers would have to be no based on your position.

 

[wordoflife]

Wouldn't it make more sense to leave a message for the owner of the phone, since it was already logged into his facebook page? He probably could have sent an email to the owner as well. Or he could have left it with the bar, since the owner would undoubtedly check back to see if it had turned up.

Yes.
I already said I wasn't defending the guy.

If you find a wallet on the sidewalk, do you call the manufacturer of the wallet and ask if they're missing a wallet, ignoring the driver's license within?

Call the manufacturer.

IMHO, the "Apple said they didn't want it" claim is completely bogus. Hogan's roommate didn't have any trouble contacting Apple security. The roommate was afraid of getting in trouble, since Hogan had used their computer/iTunes to plug in the phone. If the roommate was able to get Apple's attention, how much effort did Hogan put into it?

Agreed. Like I said, I'm giving him credit for trying to call Apple, but its obvious that he wanted the phone right when he picked it up and walked out the bar.

 

[gnasher729]

If they found it and sold it, good for them and they should be cleared.

If they stole it and sold it, shame on them and they should be charged.

There is the little matter of Californian law that disagrees with you. If you find an item that is lost, and don't return it to the owner, that is according to Californian law "theft". So should you happen to see an iPhone 5 prototype that was lost by its owner, you have two choices that are legal: You can completely ignore it. Or you can take it and return it to the owner. Taking it and then selling it is theft.

I'm not defending the guy who found it, but my understanding is that he did try to return it. He called Apple many times and tried telling them, but (as usual) the Apple reps didn't know better about it and told him it was likely a fake. Again, I'm not defending him at all (he shouldn't have sold the phone), but I have to give him some credit. Unfortunately, it's hard to get a hold of an Apple exec (even more so if you are an average user who doesn't know much about Apple). If my parents/friends were to find the phone, they'd have no idea that they would need to email Steve ... they'd just call Apple (which is what the guy did).

If he contacted Apple Care - which he seems to claim but which is not proven - then he did so not with the intent to return the phone to its owner, but with the intent to create an excuse for not returning it. Returning a phone to Apple is very simple: You put it into a package and send it to Apple, Inc, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino. You can find this address by typing "Apple address" into Google.

He should never have taken the phone from the bar to begin with. Once he did, then he took on the responsibility of finding the owner.

Worth repeating: If you find any item, the choice is yours: You can ignore it, which is complete legal. Let someone else take care of it. None of your business. Or you pick it up, and then it is your responsibility to find the owner.

 

[gnasher729]

Easy defense.
When it comes to consumer goods, the manufacturer is quite often not the owner. Even as a prototype, Apple could have easily sold it to a suppliers or another company for testing (such as AT&T) or manufacturing accessories for it (such as a neat case to make it look like a 3gs).

Easy defense, and very easily refuted. If he didn't know or guess who was the owner, the correct thing to do was to go to the police and hand over the item. It's then their business to find the owner. And if the owner isn't found for a certain amount of time, then you are lucky and you can pick it up completely legal.

And if he didn't want to go to the effort to go to the police, then there was another totally legal way to go about it: Leave the phone where it was. Don't pick it up.

 

[mbh]

If you find a wallet on the sidewalk, do you call the manufacturer of the wallet and ask if they're missing a wallet, ignoring the driver's license within?

Call the manufacturer.

Wrong answer.