Irvine Police Department Press Release

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE
1 Civic Center Plaza
Irvine, CA 92606
irvinepd.org

08/04/2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Release #:
08-04-2016
Contact:
Mike Hallinan
949-724-7110
mhallinan@cityofirvine.org

Tracking Software in Stolen Laptop Leads Officers to Burglary Suspect

Irvine, CA – The Irvine Police Department (IPD) has arrested a man for burglary and grand theft after he was tracked down using the tracking software inside a stolen laptop. The suspect has been identified as Steve Chang Lin, 49, of Irvine, and has been booked in the Orange County Jail.

At approximately 12:40 p.m. on August 4, 2016, the owner of an Irvine restaurant left his laptop on a table in the main dining area to assist employees in the kitchen. While watching the dining area through the kitchen window, he witnessed a heavy-set Asian male adult – now identified as Lin – remove his laptop from the table and quickly leave the restaurant. After successfully establishing a connection with the stolen property through the “Find My Mac” device tracking application on his phone, the owner contacted IPD to report the theft.

During the course of their investigation, responding IPD officers worked with the restaurant owner and were able to successfully locate the stolen property using the tracking application to a residence in Irvine.

After IPD officers and detectives were able to secure a search warrant for the residence, Lin was arrested without further incident.

###