Law enforcers arrested former NBA star Rex Chapman on Friday after he was charged with stealing over $14,000 worth of devices from an Apple store in Scottsdale, Arizona, according to the Arizona Republic.
Chapman conducted the thefts in August of this year by taking advantage of the EasyPay app released by the company for its Apple stores. First unveiled in 2011, the app allows store customers to purchase items through their iPhone 4 and 4s devices.
In Chapman's case, he went inside the same Apple store in Scottsdale seven times. He then pretended to purchase the stolen items by using EasyPay's self-check-out feature through his iPhone.
He then took the items he had shoplifted to a nearby pawn shop and exchanged them for cash
Based on records from the store and investigation reports by authorities, Chapman was able to walk away with over $14,000 from the store without getting caught, Engadget reported.
He was finally apprehended after the store manager contacted the police to report the thefts. He was taken into custody at 1:45 p.m. on Friday.
All in all, Chapman is facing five charges of trafficking in stolen property and nine charges of organized retail theft, according to CNET.
Chapman started his professional basketball career as the eight overall pick during the 1988 NBA draft for the Charlotte Hornets.
He became widely known after joining the Phoenix Suns for the 1996-1997 NBA season. The highlight of his career was during the Suns' 1997 First Round match against Seattle SuperSonics.
The fourth quarter of the game only had a couple of seconds remaining and the Suns was trailing behind by three points. In an amazing play, Chapman took the ball and threw a three-point shot. He made the basket with 1.9 seconds left in the quarter.
Chapman's shot sent the match into overtime. However, the Suns still lost and was eliminated from the playoffs.
He then became the team's Director of Basketball Operations after retiring from playing.