Wired.com has discovered the identity of the finder of the iPhone prototype that was eventually sold to Gizmodo. As it turns out, the 21-year-old Redwood City resident says he regrets not doing more to find the owner of the iPhone prototype.
According to Wired, the site “identified (Brian J.) Hogan as the finder of the prototype by following clues on social network sites, and then confirmed his identity with a source involved in the iPhone find.”
Hogan has not been charged with any crime by California police, but he has lawyered up and his attorney has stated that the young man is more than willing to cooperate with the authorities.
California state laws states that it is considered theft if an individual “finds lost property under circumstances that give him knowledge of or means of inquiry as to the true owner” and yet appropriates the property for his own use “without first making reasonable and just efforts to find the owner and to restore the property to him.”
San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe told Wired that Hogan was indeed being looked at as a suspect in a theft, although he wasn’t sure if any crime had actually been committed. One has to assume that that decision will ultimately rest on whether or not Apple decides to press charges.
Hogan’s attorney stated that the phone was inoperable “the entire time Brian had it.” One of Hogan’s friends offered to call Apple Care to try to return the phone, but those efforts “failed.” According to reports, Hogan then tried to offer the phone to various journalists. Wired.com admits to having received a email offering access to the iPhone, but noted that the email did not come from Hogan.
The owners of the bar in which the phone was lost said that Hogan didn’t tell anyone who worked at the bar about the lost phone. They also said that Gray Powell, the Apple engineer who lost the phone, returned to the bar “several times” looking for the property.
Powell and Apple’s counsel also contacted the San Mateo County District Attorney’s last week to report the phone as stolen.
It makes sense that Hogan would regret his actions, especially with the pressure that Apple is likely to apply here. It will be interesting to see just how harsh Apple is in doling out its brand of punishment and what kind of charges it’ll elect to press, if any.
