Technology Thieves
Houston's Apple Store crime spree: Armed robbers follow computer buyers home
Apples have a history of getting people into a jam — Eve, Snow White, Atalanta, The Trojans.
But a new crime ring is targeting Apples of a different sort. As KHOU first reported, these thieves are targeting customers of The Galleria Apple Store by following them after a large purchase and either breaking into their cars to steal the computers or holding them up at gunpoint when they arrive home.
Gabrielle Alvarado and Jacinda Boudreaux told the police the three computers they bought for a new business were stolen from the trunk of their car when they stopped at a restaurant after their purchase at the Galleria Apple Store. Alvarado speculated they were followed while shopping at several other stores by a team that communicated via cell phone.
HPD Sergeant Tony Guzman tells KHOU that "at least six" other Apple customers have been followed home and held up in their driveways, including a mother who was robbed at gunpoint in front of her children.
“[He] followed her into her driveway and pulled a gun. He didn't demand her purse. He specifically asked for the Apple computer she recently purchased," Guzman said.
Guzman said 20-year-old Blewis Lawson has confessed to that crime, and two other men have been arrested for their part in the surveillance and the putting up of the stolen computer for sale. Lewis faces two first-degree felony charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, and 19-year old Brandon Jackson and 20-year-old Kenneth Williams each face a single count of the same charge.
Guzman tells CultureMap that not all the cases have the same method of operation, so police are looking for more than the three arrested suspects — so anyone making a big purchase should be aware of their surroundings and take precautions.
You never know when Justin Long fans will strike again.
