PALO ALTO, Calif. – A California man accused of breaking into Steve Jobs’ house and stealing computers and the Apple Inc. co- founder’s wallet has pleaded no contest to burglarizing homes across the San Francisco Bay area.
Kariem McFarlin accepted a plea deal and was convicted Wednesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court on eight felony counts of residential burglary and one felony count of selling stolen property.
McFarlin was initially charged in August with one count each of residential burglary and selling stolen property after Jobs’ Palo Alto home was broken into in July. He apparently didn’t realize he was in Jobs’ house until he saw a letter addressed to the Silicon Valley icon, who died in October 2011.
During the 15-hour overnight heist, McFarlin took the late Jobs’ wallet and driver’s license as well as iPhones, iPads, iPods, Mac computers, champagne and $60,000 worth of Tiffany & Co. jewelry, police said.
A stolen iPad ended up in the hands of Kenny the Clown, a well- known street performer who used it to play music during his acts before police came for it.
Police say the clown, whose real name is Kenneth Kahn, didn’t know the iPad was stolen when his friend McFarlin gave it to him to repay a debt. The device was returned to Jobs’ family.
Investigators from a task force eventually linked McFarlin, 35, to seven other burglaries in Alameda, Marin and San Francisco dating back to March 2011.
Prosecutors in those other counties agreed to resolve all of the burglary cases in Santa Clara County, said Deputy District Attorney Thomas Flattery, who filed an amended criminal complaint Wednesday.
“I think it’s a good outcome,” Flattery said about McFarlin’s no contest plea. “I think the case demonstrates a couple of things. Really, it’s a good example of judicial economy and cooperation between the various counties to resolve everything at once.
“And it’s also an example of the work a multi-jurisdictional task force can do to bring them all together.”
McFarlin could face up to seven years and eight months in prison when he’s scheduled for sentencing Jan. 17.
