App on Stolen Apple iPad Helps Police Nab Christmas Day Burglar

Advanced technology has done it again – solving a residential crime, and this time with an iPad app! Just a few days after my post on Facebook helping police solve crimes, another story appeared that clearly demonstrates the extent to which today’s consumer electronics can help fight crime. This latest story from Westlake Village, just west of Los Angeles, is a great example of using technology to catch the bad guys. And this particular bad guy was especially nasty, having stolen the items early on Christmas Day.

A man accused of stealing an iPad and holiday presents from a Westlake Village home Christmas morning was captured with the help of an app on the tablet computer. A search of the suspect's home also turned up Christmas gifts stolen in an earlier burglary, allowing them to be returned in time for the holiday, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies.

How it Happened

A resident of the Westlake Village home awoke at 3:30 a.m. Sunday to find an intruder, who then ran away. Later that morning, the resident notified authorities after using the Find My iPad app to determine that his Apple device was giving off a signal from a nearby home. Sheriff's deputies went to that location, recovered the device and arrested Patrick Krewson on suspicion of burglary.

He Actually Stole Presents from Two Homes

A search of Krewson's home uncovered  property stolen in a Dec. 22 burglary in Vista including two flat-screen TVs, a laptop computer and a large number of children's Christmas presents, authorities said. The mother of the Vista family whose home was looted burst into tears upon learning that the gifts had been recovered.

Police and the news media have been issuing reports and warnings on the increase in residential crimes around the holidays, when presents are accumulating under trees, and many of us travel, leaving our homes empty and, in most cases, unprotected. In fact, the FBI reported a total of 400,000 burglaries in the US during the November through January time period. This is a serious trend that shows little sign of slacking off. Of course, the best deterrent to burglary is a monitored home alarm system – especially one with safer cellular monitoring and smarter interactive features. As the leader in wireless home security, FrontPoint specializes in the best protection: that’s why we’re the #1 ranked alarm company in the US. Safer, smarter, simpler, more affordable, and virtually impossible to defeat: and when advanced technology works to the victim’s benefit, that’s even better!