Two men were arrested after an Apple AirTag was found taped on the vehicle of two Florida residents who authorities say were “ambushed at gunpoint” as they returned home in August.
The attempted robbery, captured on surveillance footage, happened Aug. 19, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release posted this week.
In the video shared by authorities, two people, identified only as victims, are seen in their SUV when the suspects come up, grab them, pull them out of their seats and try to force them into the garage. The footage then cuts to an Oct. 8 bodycam recording of a deputy stopping one of the suspects in a vehicle. When the man confirms his name, the deputy arrests him.
Luis Charles, 26, was arrested on Oct. 8, while Omardy Maldonado-Rodriguez, 32, was arrested two days later on Oct. 10, the sheriff’s office said. They face charges of armed burglary and armed kidnapping.
Both are still in police custody as of Oct. 17 and have public defenders, according to online jail records. The Public Defender for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s requests for comment on Oct. 17.
USA TODAY contacted Apple on Oct. 17 for comment on the matter but did not immediately receive a response.
The robbery happened in Odessa, about 25 miles northwest of Tampa, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in the press release that called the situation “a terrifying home invasion.”
Authorities said the suspects forced the victims into their garage at gunpoint but ran off when an alarm was triggered. Detectives would later find an Apple AirTag under the victim’s vehicle.
“To be ambushed at gunpoint in the very place you should feel safest is every family’s worst nightmare,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in the press release. “Thanks to the work of our detectives, these dangerous criminals are now behind bars where they belong, and the victims, along with our community, can rest a little easier.”
Apple markets its AirTags as “a supereasy (sic) way to keep track of your stuff.” Customers can attach the circular devices to their keys or put them in backpacks or other bags then track the tags using the “Find My” app.
Users can also share AirTags with up to five people, so items multiple people use such as umbrellas, bikes or car keys can be tracked by everyone.
In 2022, two women filed a class action lawsuit against Apple claiming the AirTags are “unreasonably dangerous” products stalkers can use to harm others. 
In another case, a woman in Indiana admitted to using an AirTag in June 2022 to follow her boyfriend, Andre Smith, who she later ran over and killed. She was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 years in the Indiana Department of Correction, reported the Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Contributing: Mike Snider and Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY; Sarah Nelson and Jake Allen, The Indianapolis Star
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

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