Device Foils Suspected iPad Thief: Deputies

20-year-old man suspected in Christmas morning burglary

It was almost a real life "Grinch Who Stole Christmas" for one Southern California family, but in the end the suspected iPad thief was done in by the device police said he tried to steal.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies were led to the home of Patrick Krewson from a signal given off of an iPad he's suspected of stealing in a burglary Christmas morning from a Westlake Village home while the victim slept.

The victim, Kent Gootnick, said he saw the suspect as he awoke.

"From the corner of my eye, I thought I saw somebody in front of my bed," said Gootnick.

Gootnick said he chased the suspect down the stairs, but the man got away.

In addition to an iPad, the stolen gifts included Lakers season tickets, a Playstation 3, and a basketball jersey autographed by NBA star Steve Nash. 

Later that day, using the iPad's location-based software, deputies located the iPad in a nearby home, recovered it and arrested the 20-year-old. Deputies also found two flat-screen TVs, a laptop computer, and more than 40 Christmas presents they say were stolen in a burglary in Vista on Dec. 22.

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Krewson, a Vista resident, was booked into the Malibu/Lost Hills Station on a burglary charge. He was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

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