Tech-SHIZZLE

Last week's break in at the Promenade Temecula Apple Store was quite the surprise for the relatively quiet and upscale community of Temecula.

We have since learned that the driver of the break in vehicle, one Equonne R. Howard (22), drove his own 2003 BMW X-5 through the glass and drop down gate. A passenger loaded up on iPods and iPhones (no MacBooks or MacBook Airs!), as Howard tried to repeatedly back the BMW out of the store after the gate dropped back down behind him.

The surveillance video below shows Howard trying the drive out of the store.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports that Howard's BMW wound up with 2 flat tires during the attempted smash and grab. Apparently, he changed one of the tires near the store, then drove to a nearby 7-11 and stole a can of Fix-A-Flat to try to repair the other tire.

That failed, and he abandoned the vehicle about a mile from the store.

During the heist, the front license plate to Howard's vehicle came off, and was laying on the floor of the Apple store. Howard went back to the store-apparently to retrieve the plate-where he was apprehended by Riverside Sheriff's deputies. He had the key to the vehicle still in his pocket.

Howard is being held on $600,000 bail, the estimated value of the damage done. His prior record as reported by the Press-Enterprise suggest that this might be Howard's third strike, meaning he is looking at a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison.