Police: Tracking device leads to stolen iPad

The Huntington Beach Police Department — with a little help from the late Steve Jobs — caught a burglary suspect Sunday and returned possessions to several residents whose homes had been targeted.

That day, the department responded to a burglary report on 19th Street, where residents had awoken to find an iPad and jewelry missing, according to Lt. Mitch O’Brien.

One of the residents, though, still had another Apple device available. By using an application, known as Find My iPhone, that allows an Apple device to physically locate another, he pinpointed the iPad in a house on 22nd Street, authorities said.

Police subsequently arrested Gary Lee Carter, 43, of Huntington Beach. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning to one felony count of first-degree residential burglary, with a sentencing enhancement for having a non-accomplice present during the burglary.

Carter is scheduled for pretrial April 18 with bail set at $50,000, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

O’Brien said using an Apple account to locate stolen goods is a rare occurrence, though perhaps less so in the future.

“It’s not very common, for sure,” he said. “But that application’s getting popular on the Apple products.”

The house on 22nd Street was found to contain the iPad and jewelry from the burglarized home, as well as items linked to other burglaries in the area, O’Brien said.

Some of the items have since been returned.

michael.miller@latimes.com

Twitter: @MichaelMillerHB