Stolen iPad leads police to buyers

A court has jailed a young couple for five months after the stolen iPad which they had received led police to their location.

Police Inspector Saviour Baldacchino had charged Francois Ellul, 21, and Rowena Garcia, 23, with handling receiving a stolen Apple iPad worth €800.

Magistrate Claire-Louise Stafrace heard how the iPad had initially been stolen in January 2012.

Inspector Baldacchino told the court how the owner had lodged a missing items report at the Sliema Police Station, explaining that it had been taken from inside his vehicle. 

The stolen tablet computer was then tracked using its inbuilt GPS system, leading the police to the couple outside the Msida Detox Centre. Upon being apprehended by police with the stolen iPad in their possession, the two told the officers that they had bought it from a certain Renaldo Rotin. Rotin was also apprehended and sentenced following his admission of theft, in separate proceedings.

Taking the witness stand, Rotin confirmed that he had intended to sell the stolen device to Ellul for €100, after a chance encounter on a bus stop in Marsa. Rotin claimed that he had informed Ellul that the iPad was stolen but both Ellul and Garcia, who was accompanying Ellul at the time, were unperturbed by this, accepting the iPad and promising payment at a later date.

Rotin added that he never received anything for the stolen device, however, as he was arrested before payment could be made.