Find my iPad feature helps track burglary suspects to jewelry store
On Thursday, October 16 at 10:30 am, a resident living on the 11000 block of Santa Teresa Drive in Cupertino had gone for a walk, only to return to her home having found it had been burglarized.
According to the Sheriff’s Department, “A citizen who was on a walk near the victim’s house saw three males leave the residence carrying items”. A witness near the home watched three suspects get into a brown sedan with the last of 3 digits on the license plate of “727.”
Deputies from the West Valley Patrol Division arrived on scene and took the partial description of the license plate. Police were also able to track an Apple iPad that had been taken from the home. According to the department “Deputies used the victim’s “Find my iPhone” feature and activated it”. This allowed the investigators to track the iPad using its GPS system. They soon learned that the iPad was currently on the east side of San Jose near the intersection of King and Story Road.
Cupertino area deputies contacted Santa Clara County deputies, who were dispatched to the area to look for the vehicle. A deputy located it parked in front of a jewelry store near the intersection of King and Story Road. Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Sergeant Kurtis Stenderup said, “Deputies set up surveillance on the vehicle and observed three male subjects matching the descriptions of the person’s seen leaving the victim’s residence”.
Once the three suspects got back into the vehicle, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Deputies stopped the driver and detained both passengers. Inside the vehicles deputies found burglary tools, stolen property and money inside the car. It was also discovered that one of the suspects still had a piece of the victim’s jewelry in his pocket. Two of the suspects were juveniles, and the third suspect was identified as 20-year old Darion Steverson of San Jose.
Deputies went back to the jewelry store and discovered several pieces of the victim’s jewelry had just been sold for cash. All three suspects were arrested and booked on burglary charges.
Further investigation into the incident may result in developing new leads potentially tying the three suspects to more burglaries. The Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help. If anyone has information about the activities of Steverson relating to any other possible burglaries committed by the trio, they are asked to call 408-808-4431.
“Without the timely information, we would not have been able to capture these thieves so quickly”, Sergeant Stenderup said. “We firmly believe that law enforcement is a partnership with the community and this is a great example of being partners in keeping our communities safer”.
