iCloud technology helps catch alleged thief

Norwalk courthouse arraignment for Vincent Fowlkes. Hour photo/Matthew Vinci Norwalk courthouse arraignment for Vincent Fowlkes. Hour photo/Matthew Vinci Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close iCloud technology helps catch alleged thief 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NORWALK -- iCloud technology helped Norwalk Police catch a suspected car burglar after the thief took numerous pictures of himself on a stolen iPod and the photos were shared in the rightful owner's iCloud folder, according to an affidavit.

Vincent Fowlkes, 19, of 28 North Taylor Ave., was charged on a warrant Tuesday with third-degree burglary and sixth-degree larceny. His bond was raised from $10,000 to $15,000 during his arraignment Tuesday at Norwalk Superior Court. His next court date is Jan. 10.

Fowlkes allegedly burglarized cars on Norvell Road on the evening of Dec. 9 and was filmed doing so in at least one location, police said. The victims included the owner of a 1997 Toyota 4Runner, whose iPod touch and Beats by Dre headphones were stolen, police said.

The owner of the 4Runner contacted police on Dec. 15 to report that photos of a light skinned black or Hispanic male were showing up in his iCloud folder on his iPhone, police said. iCloud is a technology that gives users access to the same files on numerous Apple devices.

In one photo, the man was wearing the Beats by Dre headphones that had been stolen during the car burglary, police said. The rightful owner of the headphones had wrapped a piece of electrical tape on them, and the set of headphones that the man in the photos was wearing were the same color as the stolen headphones and had a piece of electrical tape in the same spot, according to an affidavit.

Fowlkes also allegedly took photos of a large amount of marijuana and a pizza box with "NTaylor" written on it, according to court documents.

Officers from the Special Services Unit viewed the photos from the iCloud folder and identified the suspect as Fowlkes, court documents show.

Fowlkes was wearing the headphones when police raided his 28 North Taylor Ave. house on Sunday, police said. He allegedly went into the bathroom and tried to flush 25 grams of marijuana down the toilet, police said.

The iPod touch and the Beats by Dre headphones were recovered during the raid, according to police.

Fowlkes was initially booked on marijuana possession and destruction of property charges and held on $10,000 bond. He was arraigned Monday at Norwalk Superior Court on those charges and was unable to make his bond. In the meantime, detectives obtained a warrant, charging him with the Norvell Road car burglary.

Lt. Thomas Mattera, commander of the Detective Bureau, said the investigation into the burglaries is ongoing.