News
Report: Police dispute second “lost iPhone” story (Updated)
By Jesse Hollington
Applications Editor, iLounge (Google+)
Published: Friday, September 2, 2011
News Category: Apple, iPhone
San Francisco Police have no record of any investigation pertaining to the rumored lost iPhone, according to a new report by SF Weekly. Earlier this week, CNET claimed that an Apple employee had lost a new iPhone prototype in a San Francisco bar, and Apple had contacted police to launch an investigation—circumstances eerily similar to last year’s infamous loss of a prototype iPhone 4. Citing anonymous sources “familiar with the investigation,” CNET added that Apple and San Francisco police investigators had traced the prototype to a home in Bernal Heights, but that the resident had denied having any knowledge of the phone or the situation, and the iPhone itself was never recovered.
When SF Weekly’s Peter Jamison contacted the San Francisco Police Department to inquire on the case, however, SFPD spokesman Officer Albie Esparza indicated that there are no records of any such investigation, nor a visit by police officers to the address in Bernal Heights where the search for the iPhone allegedly took place. Esparza confirmed speaking to CNET reporter Declan McCullagh, but indicated that he had relayed all of this information to him “weeks ago” when he was first contacted by McCullagh regarding the story. Business Insider said that despite a lack of official confirmation, CNET “ran the story anyway.” Apple has not commented on the alleged phone loss. [via Business Insider]
Update: A follow-up from SF Weekly has reported that six people claiming to be police officers allegedly did visit the home of Sergio Calderón, the Bernal Heights man referred to in the earlier report. According to Calderón, one of the men left a phone number that was traced back to Anthony Colon, an Apple employee who formerly worked for the San Jose Police Department. It is as not yet known who the other individuals were, but SFPD Lt. Troy Dangerfield has reiterated that the police department has no knowledge or record of any of its members visiting the Calderón residence, and police are currently concerned that impersonators may have unlawfully searched the home.
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1
Oooh the drama ... how will it turn out? Either
(a) Colon et al get busted for impersonating police officers and Apple has egg on their face for employing goons like that, or
(b) The whole thing is discovered to be a hoax and Apple has egg on their face for staging the dumbest PR stunt in history, or
(c) We learn that Calderón previously had a run-in with Colon when he was on the SJPD force, and this is an attempt to get Colon fired.
My money’s on (a) ...
Posted by rockmyplimsoul on September 2, 2011 at 6:37 PM (PDT)
2
The SFPD has confirmed that plainclothes police officers were there, but did not enter the residence.
Posted by Galley in Greenville, SC on September 3, 2011 at 6:21 AM (PDT)
3
One of the most interesting parts of the story: the iPhone was traced to Coldoron’s address via GPS (most likely the “find my iPhone” feature) and he just happens to work at the bar where it went missing and was working that night as well. It aooears he was caught red handed and yet so much attention is being put on what Apple and the SFPD may have done (all on the reporting of the SF Weekly by the way. I used to live in San Francisco and let me just say that the SF Weekly is an extremely liberal, often anti-authority and anti-police weekly paper). No one is focusing on the very convincing evidence that the phone was quite likely at Calderon’s residence yet he denied it. Something fishy going on with his side of the story, too.
Posted by dav on September 6, 2011 at 6:48 AM (PDT)