IPhone Finder Was Reported By Roommate

If there’s one lesson to be learned from the saga of the next-generation Apple iPhone prototype that was found in a bar, it’s to beware of your roommate.

According to newly released court documents, Apple was tipped off by a roommate of 21-year-old Brian Hogan that Hogan was the person that found the iPhone prototype and sold it to tech blog Gizmodo. Gizmodo then splashed details of the device across its website last month.

The sequence of events as had been recounted by Gizmodo and Hogan’s attorney, Jeffrey Bornstein of K&L Gates LLP, was already stranger than fiction. Hogan, a Redwood City, Calif., resident, found the iPhone prototype, which was left at a bar by an Apple employee in March. Gizmodo said it paid $5,000 for the phone, then posted details of it on its website, creating an uproar. Gizmodo returned the phone to Apple after the company demanded it back, but police soon launched an investigation and seized one of the Gizmodo editor’s computer equipment.

An account in the investigating officer’s affidavit provided more sordid details.

According to Detective Matthew Broad, he met with Apple director of information security Rick Orloff and general counsel Bruce Sewell on April 20th, the day after Gizmodo published its piece. On April 19th, Katherine Martinson called Orloff to report that her roommate Hogan was the one that found the iPhone prototype and sold it to the blog. Broad said Martinson contacted Apple because Hogan had connected the phone to her computer and she was worried that Apple would eventually trace it back to her, so she wanted to “absolve herself of criminal responsibility.”

Broad said Apple told him that Gizmodo returned the phone after Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs contacted the editor.

According to an account of an interview that Broad had with Martinson on April 21st, Martinson suggests that Hogan was aware of the value of the phone. Broad said Martinson told him that Hogan contacted PC World magazine and the Engadget blog site, in addition to Gizmodo, to try to start a bidding war among them. According to Broad, Hogan also showed Martinson a camera box containing $5,000 in $100 bills and told her that he would receive a cash bonus from Gizmodo in July if Apple officially unveiled the phone.

What follows are twists and turns worthy of a movie. Martinson called Broad later in the evening of April 21st, reporting that Hogan and a third roommate were aware of the investigation and were in the process of removing evidence from their home. Broad then tracked the pair down, eventually locating a computer, thumb drive, flash card, digital camera and stickers from the iPhone prototype at a church, gas station, bush and Hogan’s car.

The San Mateo County District Attorney’s office had opposed the unsealing of the affidavit that contains these details, but Karen Guidotti, assistant district attorney said it “respected” the judge’s decision to open it up upon the request of numerous media organizations. She said the investigation was still ongoing and there was no decision yet on whether the office would make arrests.

Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton said: “We reported what we believe is a crime and the DA of San Mateo County is taking it from there.”

Gizmodo owner Gawker Media’s chief operating officer Gaby Darbyshire said in an email that “the warrant and supporting affidavit do not appear to acknowledge the sanctity of the newsroom or even address the serious issues at stake,” adding that “the idea that it is a felony trade secret theft to photograph an item that was admittedly left in a bar is ridiculous.” She emphasized that Gizmodo attempted to confirm the phone’s authenticity from the start.

“I think it’s unfortunate that the case is being tried in the media,” said Bornstein, Hogan’s attorney, adding that “there are additional facts and contextual issues that aren’t clear.” He also reiterated his previous statement that Hogan regrets not returning the phone sooner and that he is cooperating with authorities.