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Catching crooks — there’s an app for that!
Some tech-savvy cops tracked down a brazen iPhone thief by using a special feature on one of their own phones to locate and arrest the young punk, police said yesterday.
“It was a good day,” said Officer Ashleigh Sofia, who used the “Find My iPhone” app (left) on her own phone for Tuesday’s cyber-sleuthing. “It’s something small, and if it can make someone that happy, we’re happy for her.”
The smartphone collar occurred after the crook snatched an iPhone from the hand of a woman who was walking and texting on Wooster Street near Prince Street at 7:22 p.m. Thursday.
The 15-year-old suspect, wearing a black Adidas tracksuit, fled the scene. He didn’t get very far.
When police arrived, they asked the victim if she had an iPhone. She said yes. “Yeah, I do.”
The victim had installed Find My iPhone on her device, allowing Sofia to use the same app to track down the device using GPS.
“We were able to use that to track the phone to Sixth Avenue and Spring Street,” said Sofia’s partner, Officer Ben Vultaggio.
Officers handcuffed the suspect in front of 28 Wooster St. The phone was found in a garbage can.