Wired.com Tracks Down iPhone Prototype Seller
The majority of the tech news traffic for the last several weeks has come as the result of the actions (or inactions) of one Brian Hogan. You see, Mr. Hogan, it turns out was the young man that ended up with the prototype iPhone that was left behind by Gray Powell on that now fateful March evening at The Gourmet Haus Staudt in Redwood City, CA.
Wired.com managed to run down Brian Hogan using their detective sleuthing via tracks left behind on social networking sites and ultimately identified the man through a source connected with the case.
While no one in the case has yet been charged with any crime, many ponder Mr. Hogan's situation. Under California's Penal Code section 485,
One who finds lost property under circumstances which give him knowledge of or means of inquiry as to the true owner, and who appropriates such property to his own use, or to the use of another person not entitled thereto, without first making reasonable and just efforts to find the owner and to restore the property to him, is guilty of theft.
While it would appear Brian Hogan didn't make all necessary attempts to return the phone to Apple and ultimately cashed it in to Gizmodo for $5000, his attorneys are expressing their client's deep regrets for not trying to do more.
Something tells me this tech soap opera has plenty of life left in it. Stay tuned for more drama as this story unfolds.
[via Wired]