PALO ALTO: A California man accused of breaking into Steve Jobs' house and stealing computers and the Apple co-founder's wallet has pleaded no contest to burglarising homes across the San Francisco Bay area.
Kariem McFarlin accepted a plea deal and was convicted on Wednesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court on eight felony counts of residential burglary and one felony count of selling stolen property.
McFarlin was initially charged in August with one count each of residential burglary and selling stolen property after Jobs' Palo Alto home was broken into in July. He apparently didn't realise he was in Jobs' house until he saw a letter addressed to the Silicon Valley icon, who died in October 2011.
During the 15-hour overnight heist, McFarlin took the late Jobs' wallet and driver's license as well as iPhones, iPads, iPods, Mac computers, champagne and $60,000 worth of Tiffany jewelry, police said.
Investigators from a task force eventually linked the 35-year-old to seven other burglaries in Alameda, Marin and San Francisco dating back to March 2011, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
Prosecutors in those other counties agreed to resolve all of the burglary cases in Santa Clara County, said deputy district attorney Thomas Flattery, who filed an amended criminal complaint on Wednesday.
"I think it's a good outcome," Flattery said about McFarlin's no contest plea. "I think the case demonstrates a couple of things. Really, it's a good example of judicial economy and cooperation between the various counties to resolve everything at once.
"And it's also an example of the work a multi-jurisdictional task force can do to bring them all together."
McFarlin could face up to seven years and eight months in prison when he's scheduled for sentencing January 17.
He could have received a maximum of 16 years and four months behind bars, but Judge Thang Nguyen Barrett offered to cap the sentence at seven years and eight months in exchange for McFarlin's no contest plea, Flattery said.
Police previously said the Alameda resident confessed to breaking into Jobs' home.
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