Manage Delivery
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Not even the home of Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs has escaped a Bay Area-wide upswing in residential burglaries. But unlike a majority of those crimes, a suspect is in custody.
The deceased Apple co-founder’s home in Palo Alto was burglarized July 17, said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Tom Flattery, a member of the high-technology crimes unit.
More than $60,000 worth of “computers and personal items” were taken, but Flattery declined to say whether they belonged to Jobs, who died last year at the age of 56, or another family member.
On Aug. 2, authorities arrested Kariem McFarlin, 35, of Alameda in connection with the crime, Flattery said. He was arraigned five days later on one count of residential burglary and selling stolen property.
McFarlin, who remains in county jail on $500,000 bail, could face a maximum prison sentence of seven years and eight months, including a one-year enhancement for “excessive taking of property,” Flattery said. He is slated to return to court Aug. 20 to enter a plea.
Flattery was tight-lipped about the case, declining to discuss the chain of events that led to McFarlin’s arrest. But he said that McFarlin was likely unaware of the home’s significance.
“The best we can tell is it was totally random,” Flattery said about the crime.
The residence was surrounded by a temporary construction barrier in July. Exterior stucco and trim are being replaced at the home, according to building permits filed with the city. The work, which also includes two new electrical panels, is expected to cost more than $31,000.
