Burglar of Jobs Family's Home Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison

IDG News Service reports that Kariem McFarlin, the burglar who stole $60,000 worth of Apple products and other items from the home of Steve Jobs' family last July, has been sentenced to seven years in prison. McFarlin entered the home while it was undergoing renovation and stole two iMacs, three iPads, three iPods, an Apple TV, jewelry, and other items.

REACT officers found McFarlin with help from Apple security, which tracked where the stolen devices were being used by matching their serial numbers with connections to Apple iTunes servers. The IP address in use matched a line in McFarlin's apartment in nearby Alameda that was also being used by an Apple device registered to a member of his family, according to a police report. [...]

McFarlin admitted to the burglary under questioning by Palo Alto police and said he had stolen from other homes in the San Francisco Bay Area, including two homes in Marin County, four homes in San Francisco County and one home in Alameda County.

jobs home renovation
Renovation work on the Jobs family home in July 2012 (Source: Forbes)

Immediately following the burglary, officials indicated that it appeared to be a random crime of opportunity due to the renovation going on at the house, with McFarlin having been unaware that he was targeting the home of Steve Jobs' family. At the time of his arrest, McFarlin still had a number of the stolen items in his possession, while others had been distributed to friends, including an iPad that made its way into the hands of a local clown.

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Top Rated Comments

FilipH Avatar
159 months ago
wow, 7 years jail for that ? You'd have to murder someone in Belgium to get that much.
Score: 60 Votes (Like | Disagree)
phillipduran Avatar
159 months ago
Seems like a long time.

Multiple burglaries. Multiple home invasions. He plea bargained for the 7 years. Could have been like 17 years max penalty.

That is a long time for stealing stuff. I wouldn't want to see that much time for a first offender, but since this guy has been doing this over and over at multiple homes, I think it is reasonable.
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Laai Avatar
159 months ago
That is more than any Wall Street Bad Bank Executive got.
God bless America.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Squilly Avatar
159 months ago
That's not even cool.... seven years is a lot of time for burglary.... but at least he was caught.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kbt1020 Avatar
159 months ago
Well Think of the positive. When he comes out, he'll have access to iPhone 8S, iPad 11, Ultra-slim-ultra-retina-display MBP, and 90 inch Apple TV. Then he can do it all over again.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kjs862 Avatar
159 months ago
Seems like a long time.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)