Three people were arrested Friday morning after a fight erupted outside a Pasadena, California, Apple Store where a crowd waited overnight for release of the new iPhone. Police say one of the men appears to have been among several homeless men who were hired to buy the iPhones 5C and 5S for other customers. When the store ran out of the new smartphones, the homeless men didn't get paid and became upset, according to Police Lt. Jason Clawson. Clawson says the homeless man was placed on a 72-hour mental health hold after running into the street in an enraged state.
Two of the men were arrested at about 7.30am after getting into a fistfight while in line along Colorado Boulevard. They face misdemeanour citations. It was unclear what the fight was about, but no significant injuries were reported. It is unclear whether all the men were homeless. iPhone fans who did not want to stand in line hired the homeless people to do it for them. Several homeless people were seen standing in line on Friday in Pasadena for the release of the two new smartphones, which went on sale at Apple and other retail stores at 8am. Many of the people had been recruited from downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena police told KNX 1070.
One of the homeless people said it suited her well, as she had no other plans. ‘I was asked yesterday if I would be willing to sit in line for someone so they could get a phone. I said “Sure, I’ve got nothing else to do”. So I’m here,’ said Mickie, who was driven from the Midnight Mission area along with 10 others. ‘They dropped us, sit in line, get the vouchers and then we’ll be paid,’ she added. Mickie did not want to reveal how much she was getting paid, saying it was ‘personal’. However, others in line said they were being paid as little as $35 to wait in line for several hours. Vouchers were given out at 6am to those in line. According to one fan, Francisco Naranjo, who began camping Sunday night outside of the company’s Pasadena store, the new iPhone is ‘just something you need to have’.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2427212/Three-arrested-fist-fight-erupts-outside-California-Apple-store-homeless-people-hired-queue-HOURS-new-iPhone-customers-DIDNT-paid.html
