Pictures uploaded on man's stolen iPad leads to arrest

WEST JORDAN — Andy Jeon couldn't believe it when his car was broken into before Christmas and his wife's purse was stolen, along with her iPad that was inside.

Then, he couldn't believe it when a couple of weeks after that, pictures being taken from the stolen iPad started showing up on his iCloud data storage account.

Now, the man whose picture was being taken with the stolen iPad has been arrested and booked into the Davis County Jail.

The incident began in the parking lot of Pursuit of Mastery Martial Arts, 8014 S. Welby Park Drive (4400 West). Owner Shane Myler said three cars were broken into, including the vehicle belonging to Jeon, one of his employees.

Another car belonging to one of the studio's students was also broken into and a debit card stolen, which the thief tried to use at a nearby bank but was denied, Myler said.

Not long after the iPad was taken, Jeon started noticing that new pictures being taken by his wife's iPad were automatically being uploaded to his iCloud account.

"I was like, 'What the heck?'" Jeon said.

On Dec. 28, Jeon showed Myler about 20 photos that had been taken with the stolen iPad. All of the pictures were of a man and a woman. That's when Myler got the idea of posting them on Facebook. He created the page, "Help Bust Christmas Crooks."

"Right after I put those on Facebook, a friend of mine who is a cop in North Salt Lake recognized the guy," he said.

The man in the photos, Christopher Dean Saunders, 31, was arrested by Bountiful police on Saturday and booked into the Davis County Jail for investigation of failing to stop at an officer's commands, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident and having no insurance.

Myler said it's his understanding that Saunders tried to flee from police and was chased down and a Taser deployed.

As of Monday, Saunders had not been arrested for crimes related to the stolen iPad. Also, Jeon said his iPad had not been returned as of Monday.

Saunders' criminal history includes a conviction of aggravated assault in 2000, a third-degree felony. He was sentenced to up to five years at the Utah State Prison, according to Utah state court records.

In 2008, he was found guilty of attempted assault by a prisoner, a class A misdemeanor, and was sentenced to four months in jail, court records state. In 2009, Saunders was found guilty of theft by receiving stolen property, a third-degree felony, and was sentenced to up to five years in prison.

Jeon said it has been an active month for his family. In addition to getting their property stolen, his wife gave birth to twins right after the theft.

E-mail: preavy@desnews.com, Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam