SAN ANTONIO - A woman's iPad was snatched from her lap while she was in the drive-thru lane at a fast food restaurant. It happened at the McDonald’s on Loop 410 near Marbach Road around seven in the evening Saturday.
But the woman and her husband got the iPad back a few days later after playing detectives.
The entire ordeal started when Jennifer Flores was in the passenger's seat with the window rolled down. It was her husband, Robert Flores, who saw the man approaching the car, but he thought the man might be asking for a handout. Instead, the man just grabbed the iPad and took off in a getaway car.
Robert said, “It happened within like three seconds. He just grabbed it and turned. I had to take off my seat belt and open my door.”
Robert did not have a chance to catch up with the thief. The guy hopped into a getaway car and took off. But he did get some valuable information.
“So I just looked at the license plate and just said it over and over until my wife wrote it down,” explained Robert.
He also got a good description of the thief and he was able to give it all to police. Robert attributes his quick thinking to his favorite investigative television shows.
He said, “That's the main thing in every show. Did you get the license plate? Did you get the license plate, the description?"
Robert and his wife were told by police that their chances were slim to get back the iPad.
It was very concerning to Jennifer because she is a nurse for a home health care agency and she keeps important patient information on the iPad.
“It has a lot of information, patient information, medical records, things that would put people at risk for identity theft,” explained Jennifer.
Jennifer’s husband was even more determined to get it back. He decided to look for it on Craigslist because he had seen iPads posted there before. Robert found one that looked just like his wife's iPad with the same keyboard and case, but the defining point was when the seller said he lived very close to where the iPad was stolen. Robert called police and they showed up together at the man's home, and sure enough -- it was his wife's iPad.
Robert Flores said, “He gave me his real name. He said, 'Hi, my name is Sean.' (laugh) I told the cop I didn't know there were dumb crooks out there, but there is you know.”
Police arrested 21-year-old Sean Kirchner for the crime. When the couple first arrived at his home he recognized them and tried to run away, but police caught him. They also found more stolen items in his apartment.
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