Apple store

Police Probe Smash-and-Grab Apple Store Burglaries
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10:10 am, July 23rd, 2010, Nicole Martinelli

The Suburban Square Apple store hit by thieves.
After a string of early morning burglaries at Apple stores, police are looking for links between the crimes.

The idea is simple: thieves smash Apple’s signature glass windows, then grab whatever gadget goodness they can.

The latest smash-and-grab looting hit the Apple store in Suburban Square, Pennsylvania on July 14.

At 5:18 am, crooks smashed the glass front window and harvested $22,000 of merchandise, including 11 laptops and three iPods plus iPhones, including the iPhone 4. An alarm sounded, but by the time police arrived there was no trace of the thieves.

In September, five masked thieves did a similar clean-out of the Apple Store in Marlton, New Jersey store. In just 31 seconds, they snatched 23 MacBook Pro computers, 14 iPhones and nine iPod Touch devices. The booty here was estimated worth $50,000.

“We are sharing information and working with [Evesham Township police] on this case,” Police Superintendent Michael J. McGrath said. “We’re looking to see if the actors in Marlton and Ardmore are the same.”

Other than using similar methods, investigators are checking on whether any similar crimes had been reported in other municipalities, but there is no discernible pattern, McGrath said.
These smash-and-grab incidents have also been reported in Apple Stores as far away as Arizona and as near as Lancaster.
Police in Gilbert, Arizona, are still trying to track down a pair of crooks who made off with $9,400 in merchandise on June 29 from an Apple Store in 34 seconds during an early morning break-in.

It may just be that the barrier to commit these crimes is low, spurring copycats.

More sophisticated crimes involving Apple merchandise have, however, also proved successful.

Pulling a stunt worthy of Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible,” thieves cut a hole in the roof of a Best Buy in March, then dropped down 16-feet to snatch up 20 Apple laptops. Then they climbed back up, escaping with $26,000 of merchandise without ever touching the floor.

Via the Philadelphia Enquirer

Posted by Nicole Martinelli in News, Retail Stores | Comment on this article

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