Owner’s AirPods Help Police to Recover Stolen Ferrari, Valued at $575,000
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The Waterbury, CT Police Department arrested two repeat car thieves, thanks to the owners of the vehicle’s AirPods and one of the suspect’s own iPhones, reports WFSB News.
Waterbury police say a 2023 Ferrari, valued at $575,000, was stolen from Greenwich on September 16. The WPD police were able to identify and pull over the stolen sports car, although the driver fled the scene.
Police were able to track the stolen vehicle, thanks to the owner of the car having left their AirPods earbuds inside the vehicle. Waterbury’s Auto Theft Task Force tracked the headphones, presumably using the “Find My” app, leading them to a gas station on South Main Street in Waterbury.
As police approached the car, the alleged car thief jumped out and fled the scene. Unfortunately for him, he left behind his own Apple device, an iPhone. With the help of his iPhone, police identified the runaway thief as Dion Schontten, age 22, from Waterbury. He was then tracked down, arrested, and charged with larceny of a motor vehicle.
Then, on Thursday of last week, the WPD found a 2023 Acura that had been reported missing from the New York area. Police took Schontten and another suspect, Keon Webster, age 19, into custody. WPD investigators say the suspects took turns driving the stolen vehicle.
While Schontten was charged with a second offense, larceny of a motor vehicle, Webster was hit with a charge for a seventh motor vehicle larceny offense.
“Keon Webster is somebody we are very, very familiar with. As an adult he has seven pending charges that are related to auto theft and other violent crime,” said Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that the offenders have also been involved in additional vehicle theft incidents. Police believe that it is a small group of people behind many of the city’s stolen car crimes.
Spagnolo stated, “WPD continues to actively investigate motor vehicle thefts and hold individuals accountable for their actions. The arrest of Schontten and Webster, both with extensive criminal histories, demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that repeat offenders are held accountable so they do not continue to victimize our community.”
Residents in the area say they are grateful to see the two repeat offenders behind bars.
“I drive something I don’t think anybody wants to steal hopefully. But I worry for other people,” said Robert Stanziano of Naugatuck.
While this is the first time I can recall a vehicle being recovered by tracking a pair of AirPods left inside, there have been several instances of Apple’s AirTag trackers being used to track a stolen vehicle.
In June 2022, a Toronto man tracked his stolen Range Rover by using a trio of AirTags. The man, who lives in the affluent uptown Avenue and Lawrence area, had the misfortune of having TWO Range Rovers stolen from his driveway in the space of two months.
After the first theft, the owner secreted three AirTags inside his car. The thieves found one in the glove box but missed the other two. The man was able to track the vehicle to an industrial location in Scarborough on the east side of Toronto. He did not attempt to physically recover the vehicle on his own but instead had the good sense to call the police, who then recovered his Range Rover.
