Man arrested trying to pawn Apple electronics

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Stockbridge man is accused of stealing more than $200,000 worth of electronics from mall stores.

Harold Samuel Tate, 33, is accused of stealing 80 laptops, 30 iPods and other electronics from the Apple Stores inside Perimeter and North Point malls, according to police.

Tate was arrested during a police setup as he tried to pawn some of the items he allegedly stole in May and June.

Investigators tracked some of the stolen items through the online auction Web site eBay, according to George Gordon with Alpharetta police. Tate apparently sold items to a pawnbroker who in turn sold the items online, according to police.

Video surveillance footage at both malls was crucial to the theft investigations, Gordon said. The Alpharetta police worked with Dunwoody and Sandy Springs police in the investigation.

Tate, a former department of corrections inmate, faces two counts of felony burglary and two counts of felony criminal damage to property in both Alpharetta and Dunwoody.

Tate has been convicted of several other crimes dating back to 1992, according to the state department of corrections Web site.

He was released in December from Dodge State Prison, where he served four years and nearly four months for aggravated assault. Tate also served a six-year term beginning in 1993, related to a theft and assault in DeKalb County.

Additionally, he was jailed from December 2001 until June 2003 following an arrest in Clayton County.