If you’ve ever had your iPhone stolen, you can understand the urge to become an angel of crippling, throat-crushing, eye-gouging vengeance to the no-good perp who stole your precious.
Here’s a cautionary tale reminding you to resist that temptation: that guy you you’re beating down in a parking lot for swiping your iPhone might be as innocent of the crime as a babe on Christmas.
Here’s the story, as reported by MyCentralJersey.
52-year-old iPhone owner Carl Ippolito was unlucky enough to have his device stolen from his car while it sat in a parking lot. Using Apple’s Find My iPhone service to track the device, Ippolito and his son tracked down what they thought was the stolen device to a nearby location… where 27 year old Brent Johnson was unlucky enough to be standing, chatting away innocently on his legally purchased and totally not stolen iPhone.
You can guess what happened next. Ippolito and his son charged at Johnson, demanded his iPhone, and when Johnson refused to give them his handset, proceeded to beat the ever loving crap out of him.
Needless to say, Ippolito and his son have since been charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct.
Just a reminder that as good as MobileMe’s Find My iPhone feature is, there are millions of iPhones in the country, and a person who happens to be standing at a rough GPS location is not proof of guilt. Plan your vengeances accordingly.
[via Razorian Fly]
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
40 responses to “New Jersey Man Uses Find My iPhone To Beat Down Totally Innocent Man”
wow, did it not occur to send a message and tone to confirm it was their phone??
Well, it is New Jersey. Anytime you are standing around in New Jersey, you should expect to randomly get the crap kicked out of you.
Hmm… was the stolen phone recovered?
If I lived in a state that smelled like hot garbage and a urine trough I’d be looking to kick the crap out of someone too.
he could just make his iPhone play a sound,that’s just dumb
It’s a Jersey thing.Â
When you think you’ve found your missing device, use the Find My iPhone feature to send the device a message. If the message shows up on the questioned device, it will prove it’s yours.
I bet you’ve never been there.
Been there…smells like hot garbage.
Why would anyone have his iPhone stolen?
You mean to say, “If your iPhone has ever been stolen….”
and what is the difference between hot garbage and regular garbage in terms of smell? other than the obvious reasons of foul stench how can you compare it to New Jersey?
jersey sucks. period.
Here comes another lawsuit against the perps and Apple…
“If you’ve ever had your iPhone stolen, you can understand the urge to become an angel of crippling, throat-crushing, eye-gouging vengeance to the no-good perp who stole your precious.”
Actually, I’m not sure I sufficiently believe in vigilante justice to behave so.
Well if is dumb enough to leave it in his car that’s his fault.. Leave anything of value in the car expect someone to walk by and go sweeeeeet iPhone lets take it…
Why did this have to turn into stupid New Jersey jokes? Only morons make the jersey jokes you are all making. I am sure all you do is sit on your computer all day and have no life.
“sit on your computer”? is that how they do it in New Jersey/ Â Badda Bing!
exactly why i paid extra for “device locator” it takes a picture of the guy using the phone sends it to you  lets you start the phone with an alarm sound that can not be turned off through the phone  and triangulates location to within a couple of feetÂ
the punk i punch will deserve itÂ
“i keep lookin round and it keeps not being there”
chris smithers “somebody stole my car”
What’s the difference between garbage and a girl from New Jersey? Sometimes the garbage gets picked up. Thanks, I’m here all week.
then you know what were talking about!