Posted on: February 14, 2024, 09:53h.
Last updated on: February 14, 2024, 10:01h.
Probably the most bizarre story to emerge from Las Vegas during Super Bowl weekend went unreported until Wednesday, and had little to do with the big game.
At least two thieves calmly, brazenly, and methodically robbed an Apple Store in the Downtown Summerlin shopping mall twice on Saturday, Feb. 10 — once at 11:45 a.m. and again around 6 p.m., according to news reports.
Las Vegas Metropolitan police said they arrested one juvenile captured on video stealing an armful of merchandise.
The Bizarre Part
In between the robberies, Apple CEO Tim Cook, who was in town to attend the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium, posed for a photo with the same store’s staff for the following cheery Twitter post.
Of course, no mention was made of the robbery that had just occurred fewer than two hours earlier.
Back for Seconds
Local real estate agent Bryan Lebo had booked a 6 p.m. demo of the Apple Vision Pro virtual reality headset. Little did he know, he was about to get more immersion than he bargained for.
“A couple of minutes into the demo, I heard the store alarm go off,” Lebo said on his YouTube channel. “Now, I’ve been in the Apple Store a million times when the alarm went off. So, honestly, I really didn’t even think too much of it.
“But after a few seconds, I looked at the employee who was giving me the demo … and noticed a weird, disappointed, and disgusted look on his face.”
Lebo said he removed his goggles just as one of the two robbers walked toward him. According to Lebo, each carried between four and eight laptops and tablets. Lebo videoed the final seconds of the robbery with his smartphone.
According to Lebo’s YouTube post, the Apple employee giving him the demo told him: “They were here earlier today. Just let them take everything. They’re not going to do anything.”
Police arrived within five minutes, Lebo said, but the thieves were already gone.
Two days before this theft, video posted to social media captured a similar theft at an Oakland Apple store, according to news reports that also featured video of the crime.
