Crime & Safety

San Anselmo woman's iPhone GPS helps capture thief

Police located stolen purse, phone using phone's GPS device

Marin County sheriff's deputies used GPS technology to track down a suspect in the theft of a San Anselmo woman's purse containing $200 and an Apple iPhone in San Rafael on Tuesday afternoon.

The purse was stolen from the 49-year-old woman who parked her car in the parking lot of the BayMarin Church around 2 p.m.  The woman told investigators she had left her car door slightly ajar while she was loading items into the vehicle.

When she went inside the church briefly, someone took her purse from between the front seats of her car, sheriff's Sgt. Debra Barry said.

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The woman subscribes to Apple's "MobileMe" service that uses GPS tracking to help find missing iPhones, Barry said. Deputies used the technology to track the phone to the corner of La Brea Way and North San Pedro Road, where they found 21-year-old Emmanual Krawler of San Venetia, Barry said.

Krawler had the iPhone and $200 in his possession, and the victim's purse was found hidden under a footbridge near Madison and Roosevelt avenues, Barry said. He was booked into Marin County Jail for possession of stolen property, grand theft, theft with a prior conviction and violation of probation. He is being held on $10,000 bail. Arraignment was set for Wednesday afternoon in Marin County Superior Court.

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Krawler is on probation for several prior cases including the theft of guitars from a car belonging to another San Venetia resident, Barry said.        

Information from Bay City News Service.


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