Two men charged in what some people call the “Gizmodogate” trial have pleaded “not guilty” to misdemeanors of selling stolen property. For those who aren’t up to speed, last year’s story about the iPhone 4’s “reveal” by Gizmodo has an awfully long tail. To recap: A prototype for the then-unreleased iPhone 4 was lost and, later, found by someone who sold it to Gizmodo, who then made a big hairy deal out of it. Brian Hogan and Robert Sage Wallower reportedly found the phone in a bar in Redmond, California. Hogan claims to have attempted to contact Apple about it (by making a single call to Applecare, so yeah… D- for effort there) and, figuring Apple wasn’t interested, sold the phone to Gizmodo for several thousand dollars. Then it got weird.
Anyhow…CNET reports:
At an arraignment here this morning, Brian Hogan, the man who allegedly found the prototype in a bar after it was left there by an Apple engineer, and Robert Sage Wallower, who is accused of that charge as well as possessing stolen property, entered their pleas before Superior Court Judge Jonathan Karesh.
The story has a particular resonance given that no charges have been laid upon Gizmodo or its employees. Given that both the selling and purchase of known stolen property are crimes, it’s a bit of a mystery how Gizmodo didn’t have to answer for their role in the exchange.
Pre-trial is scheduled for October 11.
