McDowell County -- August 21, 2026: A 19-year-old Marion man faces multiple felony charges after stolen Apple AirPods led a victim and law enforcement directly to his front door.
Joseph William Flack has been charged by Detective Grant Robinson of the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office with:
Felony Breaking and Entering a Motor Vehicle
Felony Larceny
Felony Possession of Stolen Goods/Property
The incident began unfolding on August 15, when Deputy Gage Honeycutt responded to a call regarding a verbal disturbance in the Glenwood community.
Upon arrival, the victim informed Deputy Honeycutt that her vehicle had been broken into the night before at her residence. According to investigators, the stolen items included:
An Apple iPad Pro
A pair of Apple AirPods
A purse and wallet (including credit cards)
A medication bag
Determined to find her belongings, the victim utilized Apple’s location-tracking feature to "ping" her AirPods. The signal tracked the stolen electronics straight to Flack’s residence, where a verbal altercation occurred between the victim and Flack prior to law enforcement arriving on scene.
McDowell County Sheriff’s deputies intervened and successfully recovered all of the reported missing property. Deputies located the victim’s stolen credit cards directly on Flack’s person, and detectives discovered additional incriminating evidence on his mobile phone.
Flack was taken into custody and transported to the McDowell County Detention Center, where he was placed under a $50,000 secured bond.