Wisconsin police are on the hunt for three thieves who stole $17,000 of merchandise from Apple Stores.
Two robberies took place January 30, within half an hour of each other, at Apple Stores in Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa and Bayshore Town Center in Glendale. Those locations are approximately 20 minutes’ drive from one another.
At the Bayshore Apple Store, the thieves stole 17 Apple Watches, 14 Apple Magic Trackpads and one Apple Pencil. The total retail value of the goods was $10,959. They then seemingly struck again at Mayfair Mall. This time, they stole eight Apple Watches, nine Apple Pencils, four AirPods and five Magic Trackpads. That theft totaled $6,072.
The three men, wearing black puffer jackets, entered the stores in the early afternoon. They perused the shelves and display tables and began placing items in their coats. They then grabbed some other items and ran from the stores. In both incidents, police say, one suspect wore a Chicago Bears hat.
The next day, the Mayfair Mall Apple Store was robbed again. On that occasion, a man and woman entered the store and began grabbing iPhones from the display table. They ultimately escaped with eight iPhones. Police do not think the January 31 robbery was connected to the previous two.
In total, the Apple Stores had $25,422 worth of merchandise stolen in less than 24 hours.
Apple Store robberies continue
Apple Stores are, unfortunately, targeted regularly by thieves. That’s because of the relatively high value of stock on display, with comparatively limited security versus other high-end retail outlets. The most significant Apple Store robberies in recent times took place in California in 2018. These resulted in the theft of more than $1 million worth of devices. Police ultimately arrested a gang of 17 people.
Apple has taken preventative steps to cut down on thefts. It uses special versions of its software for all demo devices, rendering them useless if stolen from a store. However, the fact that Apple Store robberies continue to be a regular occurrence means that this deterrent is not enough on its own.
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
