The string of awesome stolen bike recovery stories is not over yet.
The latest comes from a Portland man who posted his story to Reddit:
Yesterday was a good day. My bike was ripped off in pdx. I found in on Craigslist up in Seattle. My friends and I organized a sting operation to get back my bike and to get the thief arrested. We were successful, and the thief got charged with a felony.
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Check it. This is my bike! My favorite pic ever :)
Check it. It’s the idiot’s booking status (proof?)
Anyways, the shit-head had two other bikes on his car. ARE THESE YOUR BIKES? I suspect they are also stolen. That car is currently impounded, but I’d like to help anyone I can in getting their bike back! I’m posting this to /r/Portland because he stole my bike in r/Portland. He is also from Portland.
If you know whose bike it is, PLEASE contact me. Let’s make a point that this is NOT okay! I learned a lot in the process of setting up my sting. I can help you figure out how to get these bikes back. I know where they are, but we must act soon before he gets his car back out of impound. I have police reports and everything to verify this is true. Please play extra attention if you live anywhere in SE. That’s where the thief lives, and where my ride was taken.
While his story is very exciting, SPD once again comes off uninterested in catching bike thieves. They put him in peril by taking 45 minutes to show up while he stalled the thief. In fact, the SPD dispatcher even warned him, “The police may not show up if they get another more-important call,” according to this follow-up comment. This bike alone is worth enough to make the man a felon, and he apparently had two other bikes on the car. I know there are lots of crimes worse than bike theft. But here, a member of the public is essentially handing the police a felon, and it would be great to have just a little bit more urgency from the police.
UPDATE: To SPD’s credit, once they showed up, they stepped up to the challenge. See video linked below.
It sounds like we’ll be hearing more about this story soon. The man and his friends apparently video taped the whole encounter and are editing something together. He is also pressing charges.
UPDATE: The video has been posted.
Comments
5 responses to “Portland man tracks thief who stole his bike to Seattle, thief arrested – UPDATED”
I’m glad he’s pressing charges. It seems like too many people would rather “put it behind them” when things like this, burglaries, etc. happen, leaving the criminals basically unpunished and free to continue committing these same crimes.
Hey, this is the same Jake that this blog post is about….
You’re right, Shane! A big part of the is that the victims don’t stand up for themselves. I think that if more people did this kind of thing, then the thieves would think twice about it… I want to make an example out of this guy.
I can guarantee that no one is going to care about your bike more than you do… I’ll tell you what though, to me this felt like the best thing in the world. If anyone else needs help setting up a sting like this, then look me up. I would be glad to help. RISE UP! -JG
Dude’s blog post reads like it was written by a Sudanese email spammer.
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This is one small score for all of us who have been shafted by thieves. A huge score for Jake! LOVE IT! Two years in a row these scum bags have been taking packages off my porch at Christmas time. I have lost hundreds of dollars in Dura Ace cassettes, chains and bicycling clothes for my wife and I. Time to get them on camera. I hope Anderson gets what he deserves.