Blaring smartphone gives away suspected thief in MSU history class

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — An MSU student had given up hope of ever finding her stolen Apple AirPods, until several weeks later when a blaring phone at a desk next to her in history class revealed their location.

MSU Police have charged Omarion Thomas with theft.

According to an affidavit, the student said she left her AirPods in the recreation room of Legacy Hall back in August, and when she went back to look for them, they were gone. She did not report it at that time, thinking there would be little chance of finding them.

Go forward a few weeks and the owner is in history class and her phone alerts her that her AirPods are in range and need charging. She then connected her AirPods to her phone, disconnecting them from the suspect’s phone, and she said the phone of the student sitting next to her began blaring loud music.

She said the student immediately got up from his desk and left. She followed him into the hallway and confronted him but he refused to give her AirPods back and began cursing at her.

The victim then reported to MSU police the name of the person who had her AirPods, and that he refused to return them.

Police reviewed surveillance video from the recreation room and said it showed Thomas in the gameroom picking up the AirPods from the floor after someone else pointed to them.

Police contacted Thomas and said he agreed to come to the police department the next day for an interview, but he never showed up. The officer then called Thomas to tell him an arrest warrant was going to be issued.

The victim notified police that Thomas then returned the AirPods but was very belligerent and called her a snitch and various other names.

She said when he came to return them, he brought several females with him and the victim believes they were there to threaten her.

After the AirPods were returned, she said someone who knows Thomas told her she was told to tell her she needed to drop the charges.