Two men arrested for stealing new iPhone 16 and other Apple products

Two Philadelphia men were arrested Tuesday after allegedly stealing Apple products, including the newly released iPhone 16 Pro, from homes in Middletown Township, according to police.

The arrests came after AT&T notified Middletown Township police Thursday that several Apple devices were being shipped to addresses within the township, police said.

In response, investigators conducted surveillance of the listed properties and tracked supplies provided by AT&T, police said.

A property on Bateman Road received a delivery of an iPhone 16 Pro at 1:03 p.m. Fourteen minutes later, at 1:17 p.m., investigators observed a Honda vehicle pull up to the residence. A passenger got out on the driver's side and was seen taking the package from the porch, police said.

Police make arrests on Bateman Road on Thursday.
Credit: Submitted

The vehicle was stopped by police and identified the passenger as Elvi Samuel Duran-Vargas, 20, and the driver as Elias Gomez-Rodriguez, 22, both of Philadelphia, police said.

When searching the vehicle, officers found several iPhone boxes clearly visible, police said.

Duran-Vargas and Gomez-Rodriguez's cellphones were seized, and police said search warrants for the devices and the seized vehicle will be issued next week.

Investigators said the suspects' vehicle was active in the Hatboro/Willow Grove area of Montgomery County shortly before arriving in Middletown Township, police said.

During the preliminary interview, Gomez-Rodriguez claimed that Duran-Vargas received tracking numbers and addresses from an unknown person, while Duran-Vargas declined to be interviewed without an attorney.

Both men were preliminarily charged with theft and sentenced to 10 percent bail of $75,000 each.

The iPhone 16 was released to great fanfare earlier this month. The price range of the phones is between $800 and $1,200.

Editor's note: All persons arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and court documents.

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