Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs’ stolen iPad turns up in clown town

August 17, 2012: Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ stolen iPad winds up in the hands of a clown called Kenny, who performs kids’ shows in the San Francisco Bay Area.

It’s a bizarre story all around, and fortunately winds up with the iPad being returned.

Steve Jobs’ stolen iPad winds up in hands of Kenny the Clown

So, how did Steve Jobs‘ iPad wind up in the hands of an entertainer? A burglar ransacked the tablet from the Jobs home in Palo Alto, California, during renovation work the previous month.

Kariem McFarlin, who admitted to the crime, took $60,000 worth of property, including multiple Macs, iPhones, iPods, iPads, Tiffany jewelry, Cristal champagne, a blender and a soda maker. He also swiped Steve Jobs’ driver’s license and wallet — which contained just $1 — using a spare key he found on the property.

McFarlin gave the 64GB iPad to his friend Kenneth “Kenny the Clown” Kahn to repay a debt. Kahn, unaware of the iPad’s former owner, did not attempt to access any personal files on the tablet. Which is good, considering the iPad could have contained confidential information concerning Apple’s plans and operations.

“I didn’t notice anything special or anything like that,” Kahn, 47, told the San Jose Mercury News as he described the stolen iPad. “It was silver; it looked normal. I was basically using it like an iPod.”

A bizarre story and a ‘horrible decision’

Kahn used iTunes to load “The Pink Panther Theme” and some Michael Jackson songs onto the iPad for his clown act. After he connected to the internet, law enforcement hunted him down, arriving at his door to reclaim Jobs’ stolen iPad. Authorities also arrested McFarlin.

Kahn defended his friend, calling McFarlin “a nice guy who made a horrible, horrible decision. I wish I could ask him: ‘What were you thinking?'”

He also marveled at the fact that he briefly held in his hands a device owned by a tech legend.

“It would be like getting a football from Joe Montana that was stolen out of his house,” Kahn said. “It’s bizarre; it’s really bizarre.”

In fact, the whole story was bizarre. It was also sad, due to Steve Jobs’ death the previous year. Fortunately, it ended with Jobs’ family getting back the personal possessions — including the stolen iPad — of their late family member.

Luke Dormehl

Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.