Need to catch a thief in Kent? There’s an iPhone app for that

Local law enforcement officers used a crime victim’s iPhone to “app-rehend” two suspected robbers last week.

The men, 37 and 28, are accused of stealing the woman’s purse Thursday as she walked in an alley near her apartment in Fife.

The woman told police the men ran up to her and demanded her handbag. One yelled, “I have a gun!” and pointed what looked like a firearm at her, court records state.

The other yanked her purse out of her arms, and the pair ran off.

She called police, gave them a description of the robbers and mentioned that her iPhone was in the bag.

Police used the “find my iPhone” app to locate the phone. It was near a motel in Kent, court records show.

Fife officers contacted their counterparts in Kent, who went to the motel and, based on the woman’s descriptions, arrested the suspected robbers.

A search of a motel room and car the men were using turned up a broken pellet gun, “the victim’s bag, phone, ID, prayer cards and other miscellaneous items,” court records show.

The men have pleaded not guilty to first-degree robbery and are being held in the Pierce County Jail in lieu of $75,000 and $100,000 bail, respectively.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Need to catch a thief in Kent? There’s an iPhone app for that."