Two Philadelphia men were arrested on Tuesday after allegedly stealing Apple products, including the newly released iPhone 16 Pro, from homes in Middletown Township, according to police.
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The arrests came after AT&T alerted the Middletown Township Police Department Thursday about several Apple devices being shipped to addresses within the township, police said.
In response, detectives set up surveillance on the listed properties, tracking the shipments provided by AT&T, police said.
One property on Bateman Road received a delivery of an iPhone 16 Pro at 1:03 p.m. Fourteen minutes later, at 1:17 p.m., detectives observed a Honda vehicle pulling up to the residence. A passenger exited from the rear driver-side and was seen taking the package from the porch, police said.
Credit: Submitted
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The vehicle was stopped by police, leading to the identification of the passenger as Elvi Samuel Duran-Vargas, 20, and the driver as Elias Gomez-Rodriguez, 22, both from Philadelphia, police said.
As they searched the vehicle, officers found several iPhone boxes in plain view, police said.
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The cellphones with Duran-Vargas and Gomez-Rodriguez were seized, and police stated that search warrants for the devices and the impounded vehicle will be obtained next week.
Investigators said the suspects’ vehicle had been active in the Hatboro/Willow Grove area in Montgomery County shortly before arriving in Middletown Township, police said.
During the preliminary interview, Gomez-Rodriguez claimed that Duran-Vargas had been provided with tracking numbers and addresses by an unknown individual, while Duran-Vargas declined to be interviewed without an attorney.
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Both men were preliminarily arraigned on theft-related charges and jailed on 10 percent of $75,000 bail each.
The iPhone 16 was released with much fanfare earlier this month. The line of phones range in price from $800 to $1,200.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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