How Steve Jobs’ iPad Landed in the Hands of Kenny the Clown

What would you do if you had Steve Jobs’ iPad? Kenny the Clown, who had the late Apple co-founder’s tablet computer all to himself for a few days this month, didn’t play any games, surf the Net or check for any top-secret corporate documents.

Instead, he loaded iTunes to play the Pink Panther theme song and Michael Jackson, using the magical device to entertain San Francisco Bay Area kids and tourists during his clown routine.

He had no idea the device came from Jobs’ residence until after the friend who gave him the gadget was charged with breaking into the CEO’s Palo Alto, Calif., home. By then, the police had already taken it away.

“It would be like getting a football from Joe Montana that was stolen out of his house,” said the 47-year-old professional clown, whose real name is Kenneth Kahn. “It’s bizarre; it’s really bizarre.”

Police said Kariem McFarlin, a 35-year-old Alameda, Calif., resident, gave Kahn a silver 64GB iPad that was stolen out of Jobs’ home on July 17. McFarlin also allegedly gave another iPad to his daughter. Both devices were returned to the Jobs family after McFarlin was arrested Aug. 2, police said.

McFarlin is accused of stealing iPods, Macs, Tiffany & Co. jewelry, and even Jobs’ wallet and driver’s license by using a spare key he found on the property to break into the home…

Read more: The Columbus Dispatch

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top