Man Pictured In 'Selfie' From Stolen Phone Comes Forward

SANTA CLARITA (CBSLA.com) — A man pictured in a "selfie" found on a burglary victim's cloud storage account came forward after the photo was released by detectives.

Larry Beltran Jr. of Palmdale said he thought he'd been framed after a snapshot of him and his girlfriend appeared on TV and newspapers. Beltran and his girlfriend were named persons of interest in a burglary after their selfie backed up on to the victim's iCloud account.

"I'm not looking for any kind of apology. I understand the cops were doing their job. I would be feeling the same way," Beltran said.

Beltran and his girlfriend were considered "persons of interest" in the case.

The victim had reported her cell phone and other items stolen after someone cut open her screen door and ransacked her apartment on July 30. When the photos of strangers showed up in her iCloud account, detectives publicized the photos to try to get a lead in the case.

Beltran's aunt had bought two phones at a swap meet last month from a man who had fenced them out of a bag. The devices did not come with boxes or cords.

"I bought two phones for $80. I thought it was a good deal. Didn't turn out that way," Beltran's aunt, Angie Cabrera, said.

Beltran says he's never had an iPhone before, so he was unaware that when the device is plugged into a charger while connected to Wi-Fi, data like pictures are uploaded to iCloud.

"I don't even know what iCloud was," he said.

Beltran and his aunt turned the two phones over to detectives because they say they want to help solve the burglary case.

"I have nothing to hide," he said. "Like I said, I didn't do anything wrong. But we'll see what happens."