Seems like X5 is the latest vehicle of choice for thieves. Last week they arrived in X5 to steal Bentleys, here they drive into Apple store with a X5.


A Los Angeles man accused of crashing his SUV through an Apple storefront in Temecula in a brazen burglary last week pleaded not guilty Wednesday, Sept. 12, to multiple felonies.

Equonne R. Howard, 22, is being held on $600,000 bail, which is the estimated damage to the Apple Store, authorities said. He is charged with vandalism, burglary and theft of electronics in connection with the break-in, as well as burglary and theft of merchandise later in the day from a 7-Eleven, court records show

Wearing orange jail clothes and shackles while sitting in a courtroom at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley, Howard appeared stunned when a lawyer from the Riverside County public defender’s office showed him the two-page complaint listing the charges against him. Prosecutors also allege Howard, who was on parole, has a 2010 burglary conviction from Los Angeles County and a 2008 robbery conviction.

Howard asked the defense attorney what evidence there is against him, adding that he believes there is none.

“Wow,” he said. “This is crazy.”

Riverside County sheriff’s officials said Howard used his own 2003 BMW X5 to smash through the glass storefront and metal security gate about 5 a.m. Sept. 6. Surveillance footage shows other men with their faces covered jumping out of the SUV and beginning to grab iPhones and iPads off display tables, sheriff’s officials said.

The burglary appears to have been cut short because the security gate dropped back down, trapping the SUV in the store. The driver had to ram the gate repeatedly to escape.

The Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday released two surveillance video clips that show the BMW driving around inside the store, mowing down display tables and nearly striking one of the burglars.

Sgt. Kevin McDonald said the badly damaged BMW, which was left with two flat tires, did not make it far from the crime scene. Howard apparently switched out one flat for the spare tire and went to a nearby 7-Eleven to steal a container of Fix-A-Flat, he said.

Howard was detained near the Promenade mall Apple Store a few hours after the break-in with the keys to the BMW in his pocket, authorities said. Sheriff’s officials suspect he might have returned to look for a license plate that was left behind.

The SUV, which investigators found in a parking lot near Winchester and Ynez roads, was registered in Howard’s name, sheriff’s officials said.

The other three suspects have not been identified.

On Wednesday, the Apple Store was still boarded up and closed.


TEMECULA: Surveillance video of Apple Store burglary released | Breaking News | PE.com - Press-Enterprise