A bit of downtown "horseplay" ended with a trip to jail after a Memphis man was arrested when a victim used tracking tools to follow a stolen iPhone straight to a Walmart ecoATM kiosk, police said.
According to WREG, the trouble started on April 21 just before 8 p.m. at the MATA bus terminal, where the victim told officers he had been horseplaying when a woman grabbed his pocketknife. The situation escalated and spilled over to the 400 block of North Main, where police say things turned violent.
Investigators say surveillance video shows 30-year-old Zachary Brown punching the victim, tearing his backpack, and taking off with a white iPhone 11 and two Samsung tablets. The shaken victim later used phone-tracking tools and discovered his iPhone had made its way to a Walmart on Austin Peay, where it had already been sold at an in-store ecoATM kiosk.
Police say a review of ecoATM transactions at that store helped them zero in on the device and the person who sold it. According to investigators, the seller used a photo and a driver's license to complete the kiosk sale, and Brown was later picked out in a lineup.
How ecoATM Kiosks Try To Stop Stolen Phones
ecoATM says its kiosks are built to make it harder for stolen phones to slip through. Each transaction involves live validation: a seller's government-issued ID is scanned and checked against webcam images, device serial numbers are run through the CheckMEND database, and remote attendants must sign off before any cash is dispensed, according to ecoATM.
The company says it holds all devices in inventory for at least 30 days. It also says it will share transaction records and can remotely open a kiosk to help police recover property, procedures that are designed to discourage thieves from using the machines to flip stolen electronics.
Memphis police identified the suspect as 30-year-old Zachary Brown. He was arrested and charged with robbery, and his bond was set at $35,000, WREG reports. Brown is scheduled to appear in Shelby County court on Wednesday, April 29. Investigators say the victim identified him in a lineup, and officers obtained video that shows the assault and theft.
What Victims Should Do After A Phone Theft
If an iPhone goes missing, Apple advises owners to act quickly: use the Find My app or iCloud to try to locate the device, mark it as lost, and remotely lock or erase it if needed. Apple also recommends reporting the device's serial number to the police.
ecoATM says photos from kiosk transactions, receipts, and device records can help officers track down stolen items. To make that possible, victims are urged to keep a record of their phone's IMEI or serial number and provide that information when filing a police report and contacting their carrier.
