A group of concert-goers was able to crack a case of stolen cell phones at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California over the weekend by using their handy-dandy “Find My iPhone” apps.
The tech-savvy victims banded together and discovered that all the dots on their apps were leading to the same guy — one Reinaldo De Jesus Henao, 36, who was soon detained by security workers. “A bunch of people activated their ‘find my phone’ and pointed at ‘Hey, it’s that guy, my phone, my dot, it’s moving with that guy,’” Indio police Sgt. Dan Marshall said.
Caught at #Coachella: #Indio Police say they tracked down this man & found 100+ stolen phones in his backpack. -> https://t.co/XBprWvMtNH pic.twitter.com/GGwQxBsCWj
— KESQ News Channel 3 (@KESQ) April 17, 2017
Henao had been busy. According to the Indio Police Department, they found more than 100 cell phones in his backpack.
Via KESQ:
Marshall said he and other Indio Police officers would like to remind people attending the festival of some tips to help protect valuables at the concert.
These tips include keeping wallets and valuables in front pockets instead of the back, keeping an elastic band around valuables, using a dummy wallet or old phone and spreading valuables instead of keeping them in one place.
“If you make it easily accessible for you to get when someone calls you, then you are making it easy for someone to take it from you,” Marshall said.
Henao, who hails from Queens, New York, was arrested on suspicion of grand theft and possession of stolen property, police said.
At least 20 of the phones were returned to their rightful owners, while many more can be found on the festival’s lost and found page.
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