Apple tracking feature leads to arrest in theft of AirPods, other items in Harrison

A Harrison Township man faces felony theft charges after, police say, they used a feature on a pair of Apple AirPods stolen from a vehicle to track the headphones to the man’s home.

Noah Joseph Bizic, 19, of Walnut Street was charged with two felony counts of theft by unlawful taking and five other related charges. He is being held in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of a $15,000 cash bond, according to court records. He faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Carolyn Bengel on March 30, according to court records.

The investigation began with a March 15 report of an overnight theft from a vehicle in front of a home in the 100 block of Randolph Drive, according to a criminal complaint.

A couple told police the vehicle was outside their house and unlocked when someone removed AirPods, an Apple watch, several pieces of jewelry and $500 in cash.

The AirPods were tracked using Apple’s “Find My Phone” feature and located within several feet of Bizic’s home, the complaint said.

Police said they got a search warrant for the home and found several pieces of the stolen jewelry inside a box hidden in a void behind a picture in a downstairs bedroom.

A second warrant to search for drugs was obtained after an officer found a small amount of suspected crack cocaine inside the drop ceiling of Bizic’s bedroom, according to the complaint.

Bizic was taken into custody after police found the stolen Apple watch, according to his arrest papers.

Police said Bizic told them he had entered into several vehicles the previous night and stole a number of items, including a handgun from a car outside a home in the 300 block of Oak Manor Drive.

Police said the owner of the gun was not aware it was missing until he was notified.

The stolen headphones were discovered in a mattress in an upstairs bedroom, police said, but they were damaged when an attempt was made to flush them down the toilet.

Police noted in the criminal complaint that Bizic has seven previous arrests for theft or burglary by Harrison police and other departments.