SALEM – The suspect who ripped off a deaf man’s iPad on a Portland MAX train in September was nabbed in Salem Wednesday, police said.
Artease Rashawn Jacob, 30 (pictured right), was picked up on unrelated charges and later identified as the suspect who snatched 62-year-old Gary Meierotto’s iPad from his hands and took off running at the Southeast 102nd Avenue station.
Police are still looking for a second suspect (pictured left) who helped Jacob steal the iPad before riding away on a BMX bike. He was described as a white man in his late teens or early 20s, 5-foot-10, with a medium build and a "Chinese symbol" tattoo on the left side of his neck.
Background: iPad stolen from deaf man on Portland MAX
Trimet released surveillance photos of the suspects and attributed extensive media coverage to a multitude of tips submitted to Crime Stoppers of Oregon.
Meierotto used the iPad for email and a phone relay system.
Two campaigns were quickly set up as public sympathy and money poured in to purchase a new iPad for Meierotto.
Jacob was booked in the Marion County Jail. He will eventually be brought to Multnomah County where he will face robbery-related charges, said Sgt. Pete Simpson with Portland police.
