Several computers and personal items worth more than $60,000 were stolen from the Northern California home of the late Steve Jobs in what authorities insist was a run of the mill burglary.
“I’ve never gotten this many calls from people,” supervising Santa Clara County deputy district attorney Scott Tsui said of the July 17 theft in Palo Alto. “Other than the fact it involves Mr. Jobs, it’s a pretty standard burglary case.”
Kariem McFarlin, 35, of Alameda, was arrested Aug. 2 and charged with residential burglary and selling stolen property. He remains jailed with bail set at $500,000 pending an Aug. 20 court hearing.
Authorities believe that McFarlin was unaware that he had broken into the Jobs home.
“I’d imagine the suspect eventually realized whose house he was in, but outside, it was just another house in Palo Alto,” Tsui said.
Palo Alto police reported a jump in residential burglaries in 2012, more than 100 in six months.
Jobs was known for a modest personal life and had lived in the residential neighborhood. Authorities suspect his seven-bedroom house was targeted because it was undergoing renovation and may have appeared less secure. They believe the house was unoccupied at the time of the burglary.
“We’re not aware of anything stolen that was anything special or different from any other burglary. The computers, I’d imagine since he’s Mr. Jobs, are Apple products,” Tsui said.
McFarlin faces almost eight years in prison if he is convicted, prosecutors said.
The co-founder of Apple Inc. died at his home last October at the age of 56.
