Burglar wakes up couple to ask to use their Wi-Fi network - Sensationalist Headlines

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/07/burglar-wakes-up-couple-to-ask-to-use-their-wi-fi-network/ A 60-something couple in Palo Alto got an unpleasant surprise on Sunday when they woke up in the middle of the night to find a masked intruder in their bedroom. He said he wanted to use the couple's Wi-Fi network. The burglar didn't get the Wi-Fi password he was looking for, however. The man leaped out of bed and confronted the intruder, shoving him down the hallway and out the front door. He then immediately called the police. The troublemaker was arrested by police minutes later. No one was injured in the confrontation. Palo Alto police declined to name the 17-year-old suspect because he was a minor. He was arrested for burglary—a felony—as well as misdemeanor charges of prowling. He was also arrested for providing false information to a police officer—according to police, he initially lied about his identity when he was apprehended. The intruder had gotten into the house by "cutting a screen covering an open window in the side yard," according to a police statement. Remarkably, this wasn't the suspect's only legally dubious attempt to get Wi-Fi access that weekend. Just before midnight the previous night, police say, the same young man was found prowling around outside another Palo Alto home. When the house's residents came out and confronted him, he "asked to use their Wi-Fi network because he was out of data." They told him to get lost, and he rode away on a bike that turned out to be stolen from their back yard. Police were able to recover the bike from the suspect following the second burglary, and he may face an additional charge for stealing the bike.

sometimes a mans gotta nut

A man’s gotta have his internet I guess.

How hard is it to find free Wi-Fi nowadays? Here you could just go to the train station, city central, almost any mobile store or internet shop, list goes on and on. I guess he is not the smartest to begin with if he goes around stealing stuff and committing a felony for some Wi-Fi...

Cities don’t have free public wi-fi in the US, and I’m guessing he was trying to download something illicit or look at porn and he can’t go into a local library late at night.

I don't think prison has Wi-Fi so he ought to quit while he's ahead. Also how is 17 a minor? Maybe I'm just used to Sweden having under 15 being a minor, but at 17 you really ought to know what you want to do with your life.

How did he think it was going to go when he woke up the people he was robbing..

A lot of countries consider people under 18 minors. Also a lot of countries can still charge you as an adult if you are 16-18 if its applicable. Either way, any sensible court would give him a reduced sentence anyways minor or not. Well, not sure about US, but most places in EU would not charge him as if he were and adult doing the same, even in Sweden where he doesn't technically count as a minor im sure.

Funny thing is most people don't change the WiFi password from the one on their router, so if he could probably have used it and left without waking anyone.

I know internet is difficult to get in the US but this is a new low

Didn't just press the WPS button Underrated feature for anyone that doesn't care about passwords

Also quite unsafe feature that you should disable because many have a PIN version thats easy to bypass.

Pretty much every McDonalds and Starbucks around here has free wifi and most McDonalds are open late or 24 hours. Kid's just an idiot.

He's clearly not all there.

Probably on drugs and came up with the brilliant plan of "if they catch me I'll just tell them I'm trying to get WiFi lol" Which to be fair, kinda worked for him the first time.