Sage Wallower, 28, and Brian Hogan, 22, were also ordered to collectively pay the Cupertino-based tech giant $250 in reparations for the smartphone prototype they sold to a writer for Gizmodo, said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. The DA's push for a five-day jail sentence was denied by San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Stephen Hall, who instead said the men must complete 40 hours of community service. The case drew international attention after Gizmodo posted a detailed peek in April 2010 at the features and look of the top-secret phone, which Hogan found in a Redwood City bar.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs personally contacted Gizmodo to get the phone back. Though Waller, of Emeryville, and Hogan, of Redwood City, were eventually charged with misdemeanor misappropriation of lost property, the blogger who bought the device was not. Prosecutors believed Jason Chen would claim he was protected by journalistic freedoms when he acquired the phone.
Waller's attorney, Elizabeth Grossman, said the sentence was appropriate given the minor circumstances of the crime. Once Hogan discovered the phone, he enlisted Waller's help in finding a buyer, prosecutors said. After shopping the device around to some tech media sources, they struck a deal to sell the phone to Chen for $5,000. Hogan's attorney said his client is deeply remorseful for what has turned out to be a really bad choice he made after a few drinks.
