These crooks wheely wanted the new iPhone.
California cops arrested one suspect and are hunting for three others after the bandits rammed a BMW through a security gate at a Temecula Apple Store this week, snatching iPhones and iPads a week before the hotly-anticipated gadget went on sale, The Press-Enterprise reported.
The driver didn’t get far. The 2003 BMW X5 blew out two tires as the driver desperately rammed his way back out after the 5 am smash and grab on Sept. 6.
Cops arrested Equonne R. Howard, 22, of Los Angeles, a few hours later after he allegedly returned to the scene of the crime, apparently looking for a license plate he’d left behind, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Kevin McDonald told the paper.
The car was found in a parking lot about a half-mile away from the crime scene. Howard apparently swapped one of the flat tires for a spare, then broke into a nearby 7-Eleven, where he stole a can of Fix-A-Flat in a bid to fix the second tire, McDonald told the paper.
Apple began taking orders for the iPhone 5 just after midnight today, Pacific time, promising delivery by next Friday. Four hours later, demand was so great that some deliver dates were pushed back to two weeks, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White told The Associated Press.
If the thieves were looking for the newest iPhone, they must have been disappointed: The phone, which retails for between $199 and $399 with a two-year contract, doesn’t even go on sale in stores until next Friday. Without a contract, the lowest-end phone costs $649.
Howard, who is charged with vandalism, burglary and theft of services, pleaded not guilty Wednesday. He is being held without bail at the Southwest Detention Center in Riverside County. Cops are hunting for three accomplices.
Howard is on parole, and has a rap sheet that includes convictions for a 2010 burglary and a 2008 robbery, the Press-Enterprise reported.
Temecula is about an hour-and-a-half drive from Los Angeles.