Brian Hogan and Robert Sage Wallower, the two men that have been charged with stealing a prototype of Apple"s iPhone 4 in March 2010, both pleaded not guilty in their first court appearance today. News.com reports that both men entered their pleas today in a Redwood City, California court with Superior Court Judge Jonathan Karesh presiding. Judge Karesh set a date of October 11 to hold a pretrial conference in the case. The actual trial date was also scheduled today. It will be held on November 28. The judge then released both Hogan and Wallower on their own recognizance.
Back in August, the District Attorney of San Mateo County, California filed misdemeanor charges against both Hogan and Wallower. Hogan, 22, was charged with one count of misappropriation of lost property while Wallower, 28, was charged with misappropriation of lost property, and possession of stolen property. Hogan claimed he found the prototype iPhone 4 in a bar in Redwood City back in March 2010, several months before the final version of Apple"s popular smartphone was released. The prototype was accidentally left at the bar by an Apple employee.
Hogan sold the iPhone 4 prototype to gadget web site Gizmodo for $5,000. The site later posted an extensive article based on examining the prototype but later returned the phone to Apple. The district attorney for the case decided in August not to press charges against Gizmodo"s owner Gawker Media nor the article"s author Jason Chen.