According to a report on local television station KHOU Channel 11 you just might get more than you bargained for after your next trip to a local Apple Store in Houston, Texas. According to authorities in Houston there have been at least six Apple customers in Houston who have been followed home and robbed at gunpoint.
It is part of a growing trend in Houston and elsewhere. Armed robbers are looking to steal the Apple computers customers just brought from the local Apple Store.
Houston Police Department Detective Tony Guzman spoke about one recent incident involving a mother and her two children. A man jumped out of a car and robbed her in her own driveway right in front of the children. According to Guzman, “He didn’t demand her purse. He specifically asked for the Apple Computer she had recently purchased. ”
Eventually a suspect, Blewis Lawson, was apprehended and according to Guzman he confessed to that robbery. However, Lawson did not act alone because two other suspects, Kenneth Williams and Brandon Jackson, were also charged in the case after putting the stolen computer for sale on Craigslist, Guzman told KHOU 11. Eventually police found out that the trio would also rob the computer buyer they contacted and subsequently met with via Craigslist.
The local crime spree didn’t stop there since the report detailed another incident where two women, Gabrielle Alvarado and Jacinda Boudreaux, had the three Apple computers they had just purchased at the local Apple Store stolen from their car. They had purchased the computers from the Apple Store in the Galleria for a new business they were working on together.
Upon leaving the store they were followed by suspects that were communicating by cell phone. This wasn’t known to them and they were unaware that the suspects continued to follow them for some time. Eventually they were followed to a local restaurant where they parked their car. Upon leaving the restaurant they discovered that their car window had been smashed, the car seat had been pulled down, and the three computers were missing.
Gabrielle warned Apple customers to be on alert. According to her, “If you are going to spend money at Apple, they need to watch their backs. ” I couldn’t agree more – watch your back people, keep alert, and watch your surroundings. If you think you are being followed head to the nearest police station.
If you want to play it safe consider ordering your next Apple computer from Apple’s online store. It will arrive in a plain brown box robbers not included.
[via KHOU Channel 11 Houston]
David W. Martin has more than 20 years of experience in the industry as a programmer, systems and business analyst, author, and consultant. David has written for CNET’s iPhoneatlas.com, MacLife.com, CultofMac.com, BYTE.com and recently for aNewDoman.net. He comes to Cult of Mac’s website with deep knowledge and passion for the all things Apple. Follow David on Twitter @david_w_martin or see what he’s up to now at davidwmartin.com.
20 responses to “Armed Robbers Follow Houston Apple Store Buyers Home”
 Wow, that’s my local Apple store. I remember buying my 21.5″ iMac from there. It’s a total thief magnet!
These is more the result of some dumb people and the fact that America is gun crazy. Â It has little to do with the fact that it was Apple gear. Â
What does this have to do with Americans specifically? Thieves don’t have weapons where you come from?
I’m looking to buy a used MacBook Pro and I checked Craigslist yesterday and someone listed a brand new one for $300 under retail. He noted that he received it as a birthday present and was selling it because he “hates Macs.” I immediately thought, who buys a $1500 computer as a birthday present for someone and doesn’t know they’re going to hate it? My next thought was – Stolen. I moved on. Then I saw this today. Not a shocker.
 Well, in UK guns are forbidden and even the police is not armed, only special police units are allowed to carry guns.
I just read that title as “armed robots…” uhh…too early.
So then they take a knife, what’s the point here? Besides, criminals don’t listen to laws, that’s why they would probably still use guns. Gun or not, you don’t need a gun to rob somebody.
And of course it has something to do with it being apple. Apple gear is expensive, why would they steal cheaper computers?
Do people think about what they write?
 Another reason why I always check my mirrors to see is the same car has been following me. If I notice something I will take crazy routes home and if they happen to follow all my turns I would call the police.Â
Also, I would NEVER keep electronics like that in the car. 1) too hot for them 2) someone could peak in my window and break the glass to grab em. ALWAYS drive your products straight home. Â
That’s a complete myth. Guns are legal in the UK. They require a firearms certificate.
Also, many of the police are armed. Remember when the lowly transit police shot an innocent Brazilian man seven times in the head a few years ago in the subway? And here’s a case where neighborhood motorcycle patrols carry SUBMACHINE GUNS with 30-round magazines.
http://www.securitymanagement….
True, many police in the UK aren’t armed, but they are getting more and more armed every year.
In any case, nobody needs a gun to rob a mom in front of her kids. Any weapon will do, or even the threat of a weapon. You especially don’t need one to break into a car while the owner is eating in a restaurant.
Don’t make this about Americans with guns, it isn’t. Plenty of other stories are, but not this one.
 This is my Apple Store as well.  I buy small things from there but if it’s a new iMac or MBP I get it through the online store.Â