‘Information leak’ suspected after series of local iPhone thefts

After making six arrests in four days, Troy police said Wednesday they suspect an information leak led to a series of iPhone thefts from customers’ doors.

On Monday, officers from the Troy Police Department’s patrol unit located a suspect who stole iPhone packages delivered to local homes. According to a post on the department’s Facebook page, officers followed him to Sterling Heights, where they allegedly stole the package. Authorities arrested the suspect and found the package in his vehicle, as well as two other packages allegedly stolen from addresses in Utica and Southfield.

On Tuesday, a directed patrol unit located another suspect accused of similar crimes and stopped his vehicle in West Bloomfield, with the assistance of other agencies, according to a social media post. Five iPhones were found in the vehicle and police arrested four people who were in the car.

Then on Thursday, authorities located another suspect wearing a jacket and hat with the FedEx logo. Officers allegedly saw a man, later identified as 34-year-old Jose Junior Rosario, of New York, hanging around the house for several hours and then finally approaching the porch some time after the package was delivered.

Police said that by the time Rosario arrived, the homeowner had already picked up the package but left the Mac Pro laptop on the porch. The product was in packaging and the homeowner intended to return it to the seller, authorities said.

The perpetrator allegedly took the laptop and left the scene. Police said they followed them until they finally made a traffic stop and found 16 new iPhones and iPads in the vehicle, all still in their original boxes.

Rosario was arrested and charged with five counts of mail theft and driving with a suspended license. He was arraigned Friday in Oakland County District Court 52-4, where his bond was set at $150,000.

The police did not identify the other suspects.

Troy police suspect that “an information leak occurred from either the shipping company or the cell phone service provider because multiple unrelated suspects have direct information about expected iPhone shipments.”

The latest arrests follow the October 15 arrest of a man wearing Amazon vest who authorities say also stole several iPhones left at customers’ doors.

Police suggest iPhone customers should set up a signature requirement upon delivery or upon collection of the phone at a retail location.

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