Robbery victim tracks thief with AirTag, gets broken nose

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in iOS
A New York man who found his stolen motorbike using Apple's AirTags, was then beaten up by the thieves.




AppleInsider has warned before that users should never chase down thieves using AirTags or Find My. Now New Yorker Stephen Herbert says he regrets doing exactly that after the thief broke his nose.

"I think a lot about it, if he had a gun I could be dead," Herbert said to the Daily News "I think about how stupid I was to confront someone and maybe my life was ruined in a much more serious way."

Herbert had bought a Honda Metropolitan on June 11, 2022, and it was stolen three days later. He did report it to the police but ultimately decided that he "needed to see [the bike] with my own eyes."

He tracked the bike's AirTag down to outside a deli in Bushwick, and confronted two people. Herbert said he was contacting the police and the thief left, but then returned and with an accomplice attacked the victim.

Victim Stephen Herbert (source: Daily News)
Victim Stephen Herbert (source: Daily News)


"The next thing I know, I'm down," said Herbert. "Maybe they both punched and kicked me. I was just hoping at that point they would stop, get up and leave and take my bike. And they did. Keeper of Thieves."

Herbert required surgery on his nose. He hopes to now have surgery to restore the nose's original shape.

"I definitely walked around the neighborhood with an aura of comfort, and I don't anymore, and I definitely don't feel safe," he said. "Can't pretend we live in a safe town."

AirTags have previously been used successfully for much safer cases, such as the recovery of lost luggage at an airport.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    Don't you live in America ? I am against violence and gun but as American, you could buy gun and defend yourself against these bad people and take back what is yours. If these kind of people are not stopped than everyday they will take away someone's property. It will be anarchy in country. Law can not do it right most of the time. Only innocent people get shafted.
    williamlondonkillroy
  • Reply 2 of 16
    wood1208 said:
    Don't you live in America ? I am against violence and gun but as American, you could buy gun and defend yourself against these bad people and take back what is yours. If these kind of people are not stopped than everyday they will take away someone's property. It will be anarchy in country. Law can not do it right most of the time. Only innocent people get shafted.
    I think a better choice would be to track down your stolen merchandise and find a policeman to help you recover your property.

    That way you wouldn't be putting your life at risk, and there'd be a much better chance that the thief would be spending time in the hoosegow.
    retrogustoronnmuthuk_vanalingamauxiowilliamlondonkillroystevenozdoozydozenmacxpressravnorodom
  • Reply 3 of 16
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member
    wood1208 said:
    Don't you live in America ? I am against violence and gun but as American, you could buy gun and defend yourself against these bad people and take back what is yours. If these kind of people are not stopped than everyday they will take away someone's property. It will be anarchy in country. Law can not do it right most of the time. Only innocent people get shafted.
    So you buy a gun, confront the thieves, and get your property back.  They get pissed off, go and get their own guns, and track you down to get revenge.  That sounds more like anarchy to me than taking it to law enforcement.
    williamlondonkillroystompydoozydozencaladanianmuthuk_vanalingamcrowleyjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 16
    looplessloopless Posts: 325member
    You need to understand the principle of the "Leviathan". The "Leviathan" is law enforcement. If two people get into a confrontation then the only thing stopping things escalating is "fear of consequences" from the Leviathan. It's at the basis of society that prevents anarchy. Whenever there is no fear of or trust in  the Leviathan then you get chaos and violence. Yeah and Joe-schmo blasting away with a gun at a coffee shop is more likely to kill innocent people than the perpetrators.
    killroyjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 16
    loopless said:
    Yeah and Joe-schmo blasting away with a gun at a coffee shop is more likely to kill innocent people than the perpetrators.
    Name one instance where the good guy with the gun who stopped a criminal ended up killing innocent bystanders.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 16
    killroykillroy Posts: 271member
    loopless said:
    Yeah and Joe-schmo blasting away with a gun at a coffee shop is more likely to kill innocent people than the perpetrators.
    Name one instance where the good guy with the gun who stopped a criminal ended up killing innocent bystanders.

    There are times where the good guy with the gun get shot by the police. And some times the good guy was another cop.
    jony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 16
    stevenozstevenoz Posts: 314member
    loopless said:
    Yeah and Joe-schmo blasting away with a gun at a coffee shop is more likely to kill innocent people than the perpetrators.
    Name one instance where the good guy with the gun who stopped a criminal ended up killing innocent bystanders.
    https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/robbery-victim-fires-attacker-hits-girl-82907387
    doozydozenjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 16
    wg45678wg45678 Posts: 47member
    wood1208 said:
    Don't you live in America ? I am against violence and gun but as American, you could buy gun and defend yourself against these bad people and take back what is yours. If these kind of people are not stopped than everyday they will take away someone's property. It will be anarchy in country. Law can not do it right most of the time. Only innocent people get shafted.
    He lives in New York. Where they make it difficult if not impossible to acquire or carry one legally and where you’re not allowed to use it to defend or recover property. 
    edited August 2022 watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 16
    stevenoz said:
    loopless said:
    Yeah and Joe-schmo blasting away with a gun at a coffee shop is more likely to kill innocent people than the perpetrators.
    Name one instance where the good guy with the gun who stopped a criminal ended up killing innocent bystanders.
    https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/robbery-victim-fires-attacker-hits-girl-82907387
    Something tells me @TenApplesUpOnTop doesn’t want to see the readily available evidence they asked for. Anyone that uses the phrase “good guy with a gun” unironically is too far down the rabbit hole to be persuaded otherwise.
    killroydewmecrowleyjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 16
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    wood1208 said:
    Don't you live in America ? I am against violence and gun but as American, you could buy gun and defend yourself against these bad people and take back what is yours. If these kind of people are not stopped than everyday they will take away someone's property. It will be anarchy in country. Law can not do it right most of the time. Only innocent people get shafted.
    This is exactly what's wrong with America. Everyone is fuckin' trigger happy. Just shoot someone and it makes everything all better doesn't it? This is exactly the issue with people and guns in general. People like you don't need to be anywhere near a gun with that thought process. 
    edited August 2022 jony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 16
    loopless said:
    Yeah and Joe-schmo blasting away with a gun at a coffee shop is more likely to kill innocent people than the perpetrators.
    Name one instance where the good guy with the gun who stopped a criminal ended up killing innocent bystanders.
    https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/07/20/denver-police-scrutiny-gunfire-shooting

    More training needed...

    My favourite 'only in America' videos are when the cops are chasing someone down the highway, and the cop driving shoots through his own windshield in order to get some shots off in the direction of the suspect. They always seem to be in LA.
    jony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 16
    itinj24itinj24 Posts: 51member
    Welcome to NYC.  Where the perp is always the victim. 

    Sure you can call the Cops and they’ll come. Collar the guy in which the charges will most certainly be knocked down by the DA. The guy will be released on a DAT and be back out on the street a couple hours later. Maybe if the Cop is lucky, they’ll be challenged by the perp who stole your property and resist arrest. Now the Cop will have to fight back and be scrutinized under a microscope by all the cell phones pointed in their direction.  Possibly face termination, suspension and/or discipline because an opinion by the mob was already formulated, before due process, while the Cop was merely doing their job. Furthermore,  Highly likely to face a lawsuit by the perp as well, all on your behalf. 

    Take the loss.  NYC DA’s and politicians are for the criminal.  It’s no coincidence that crime has sky rocketed. The criminal feels emboldened because they are now a protected class.  Voting has consequences. 
    edited August 2022 watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 16
    Of course getting robbed of something you just bought can make you very angry. But to bring a gun into play for this, with the possibility of killing someone, feels not proportional. A life, even of a criminal, should not be endangered for this kind of theft.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 16
    itinj24itinj24 Posts: 51member
    Of course getting robbed of something you just bought can make you very angry. But to bring a gun into play for this, with the possibility of killing someone, feels not proportional. A life, even of a criminal, should not be endangered for this kind of theft.
    If I’m getting robbed, someone is getting shot. 

    Perhaps you don’t know the definition of Robbery in NY and have it confused with Larceny. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 16
    danoxdanox Posts: 2,804member
    loopless said:
    Yeah and Joe-schmo blasting away with a gun at a coffee shop is more likely to kill innocent people than the perpetrators.
    Name one instance where the good guy with the gun who stopped a criminal ended up killing innocent bystanders.
    A 14 year old girl hiding got killed by a policeman in a store dressing room, a good guy with gun. Suspect also dead had no gun.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/los-angeles-police-girl-shooting-b1982020.html

    Call the police, wait and take pictures of the guy in the meantime? Don’t confront just track. Also if you had a lock and chain with you, since you tracked it to that location lock it up. ;)

    edited August 2022 watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 16
    1348513485 Posts: 343member
    macxpress said:
    wood1208 said:
    Don't you live in America ? I am against violence and gun but as American, you could buy gun and defend yourself against these bad people and take back what is yours. If these kind of people are not stopped than everyday they will take away someone's property. It will be anarchy in country. Law can not do it right most of the time. Only innocent people get shafted.
    This is exactly what's wrong with America. Everyone is fuckin' trigger happy. Just shoot someone and it makes everything all better doesn't it? This is exactly the issue with people and guns in general. People like you don't need to be anywhere near a gun with that thought process. 
    Yes. It's just property. Having a gun doesn't permit you to administer the (potential) death penalty for a stupid motorbike, for instance. And you probably have insurance, so it's an inconvenience, not a tragedy. Call the cops.
    jony0watto_cobra
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