According to the
Denver Post
, police have arrested a man suspected of the strong-arm theft of a newly purchased Apple (AAPL) iPad outside a local shopping mall.

The man was identified as Brandon Darnell Smith, 20. A surveillance camera had captured an image resembling Smith near the parking garage where the crime took place. He was arrested early Saturday morning in a traffic stop.

The victim, William Jordan, 59, told police he had purchased the iPad on April 15 as a corporate gift from the Apple Store in Denver’s Cherry Creek Shopping Center. He left the mall with the cord of a white Apple bag wrapped around his little finger.

“The next thing I know, I’m spun around. I see this kid … and he’s pulling it out of my hand,”  Jordan told KDVR Denver.

“He kept pulling until something had to give, and it wound up being my finger.”

Jordan gave chase until saw how badly he was injured. Doctors later amputated part of his pinky.

Apple products have been attractive targets for thieves since the launch for the original iPod in 2001. Apple’s  distinctive packaging — from the bags they leave the store in to the white earbuds their owners wear — make them easy to spot.

[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]