Stories about Bike Thieves

American Bicycle thief gets ‘torched’

velochick — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:31:10 +0000

“According to newspaper reports, a burgular was doing a job in a bicycle shop in Lompoc, Caifornia, and fell through the ceiling.

Unftunately, 24-year-old Santiago Alvarado , had been holding the torch he was using in his mouth to free his hands for use in carrying out his nefarious intentions.

Such a fall would not normally be fatal, but the torch rammed into his skull when he hit the floor’.

From “Stupid things Men Do’

How long will an unchained bike last in a city street before someone steals it?

velochick — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:31:54 +0000

By Fiona Ortiz Reuters – Thursday, October 9 01:24 am

(Reuters) – How long will an unchained bicycle last on a city street before someone steals it?

Using hidden cameras and cheap bicycles as bait, an Argentine publicist set out to gauge crime in different neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires. The longer it takes for the bike to be stolen the safer the area, is his hypothesis.

“It’s not a statistic but in a way it shows that the places where the bicycle gets robbed really quickly perhaps the quality of life is poorer,” said Mariano Pasik, 37.

Pasik speeds up the videos, sets them to music and puts them on a website (http://www.lapruebadelabicicleta.com/ ). He hopes other videographers will join his nonprofit “Bicycle Test” project and create a worldwide insecurity index.

It could become an informal crime gauge akin to the “Big Mac Index,” which compares the cost of the same McDonald’s sandwich in different countries to give an idea of buying power of people in different places, Pasik said.

Pasik, who runs his own publicity firm Liebre Amotinada Ideas (Mutinous Hare Ideas), said the project is part art, part reality show, part journalism and part fun.

Decoy Bike Tricks Bike Thieves

velochick — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:38:33 +0000

This article was published on 02.16.06.

Anon Source

US Local police departments are amassing an ever-expanding arsenal of high-tech tools to fight crime. DNA helps track down murderers and rapists. Tasers, beanbag guns, pepper spray and other “non-lethal” weapons can subdue violent, drugged-up suspects, as well as the occasional anarchist protester.

But you might be surprised to learn about the gee-whiz tech tools that local police agencies are ready and willing to employ against perpetrators of less-dire crimes.

Back in mid-January, Jason Cecchettini’s girlfriend’s truck was broken into near her Curtis Park home. Unfortunately for the crooks, they picked on the wrong person. Cecchettini was sure that a thief was targeting the neighborhood and that, if tempted, the villain would strike again. With the help of the Sacramento Police Department, he laid a trap.

The next evening, Cecchettini placed a fancy bike, unlocked, on the back of his pickup truck in front of his girlfriend’s house at midnight. By 1:30 a.m., the bike was gone, stolen from the back of the truck.

What the thief didn’t know was that the bike was a special “bait bike” of Cecchettini’s own design. It was equipped with a tiny radio transmitter, installed inside the bike’s handlebars. And the same handlebars were coated with a fine, invisible powder that ultimately would betray the criminal.

Using radio receivers tuned to the special frequency that the bike was transmitting into the air, the cops were able to pinpoint the exact location of the thief–only about a mile away from where the bike was stolen–within minutes. They dispensed a little shock and awe while they were at it; a Sacramento Police Department helicopter, equipped with a tracking receiver, was dispatched to hover over the house until patrol cars arrived.

No doubt discombobulated by the thundering swish of the helicopter blades and the blinding searchlights raking the house, the suspect tried unsuccessfully to stash the bike, Cecchettini said.

“He was just freaking out. He was probably only home five minutes when the police helicopters moved in,” he said.

Cecchettini tagged along with the officers, tracking the signal to a back bedroom of the house. There he found what he was looking for.

“I noticed the bed was pretty lumpy. I pulled back the covers, and there she was.” Apparently, it was the best the thief could do on such short notice. “I guess he didn’t have time to stuff it in the attic,” Cecchettini observed.

The suspect also had the telltale green “clue spray” on the palms of his hands. The powder only shows up under an ultraviolet light of a particular wavelength.

Caught green-handed, the suspect was arrested and booked in the Sacramento County Jail.

Cecchettini is president of Pegasus Technologies, a small company that specializes in auto-theft-recovery technology using radio transmitters.

Pegasus makes most of its money selling LoJack-style vehicle-recovery systems to private security companies who are hired by corporations in foreign countries like Pakistan and Kenya.

In the States, Pegasus does small bait bikes and other niche radio-tracking technology just for police departments. Much of the work the company does in Sacramento is done pro bono.

Wannabee Bike Thief leaves his Finger behind

velochick — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:34:27 +0000

9/08/2007 From the Mirror:-

A HAPLESS thief was caught red-handed, literally – when he left his finger at the crime scene.

Officers bagged it and took it to hospital, where they found the man waiting for treatment.

Medics will now try to stitch the digit back on.

But the 20-year-old faces a grilling when he comes out of surgery.

Vigilante Cyclists grab their stolen bikes (yes bikes) back

velochick — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:09:52 +0000

www.littermag.com/videos/bikethief.html

Check out this video.. but be warned, the motorist uses a mobile phone whilst driving…. a No No!

Slovenian Cycleshop owner steals 2865 bicycles in Toronto!

velochick — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:27:30 +0000

From the Independent 24/8/08:-

Among residents of the trendy art and design district in Toronto, it was hardly a secret that the bearded man who owned the Bike Clinic on Queen Street was a bit of a renegade. The police had an idea he might be up to no good too. But the day they finally raided his shop brought more than a few surprises. 2,865 of them in fact.

This is the staggering number of bicycles that detectives discovered stashed not just in the shop on two floors but in several other garages that its mysterious owner, Igor Kenk, had rented around the city.

What Mr Kenk seems to have been running all this time was a back-of-a-lorry enterprise the scope of which even Del Boy would have had trouble grasping. He must answer 58 charges of theft and drug possession. Two others have also been charged in connection with the case.

The police were spurred into action when bicycle thefts in Toronto surged in June. They put out bait – a bicycle on the street. Mr Kenk and a friend were seen passing by. The friend was later seen slicing the locks of two other bikes near by.

As he awaits his day in court, the people of Toronto have already given their verdict. Indeed Mr Kenk, who holds a Slovenian passport and has claimed to have worked for the KGB, may be the most hated man in the city. But what about all those bicycles? When the police first raided the Clinic in July they were barred from going inside by the fire department, for safety reasons.

So crammed was the second floor with two-wheelers, that firefighters were obliged to remove the windows and begin lowering bikes one by one to the street with a rope.

Finally, all the models were put inside an old police garage, the doors flung open and people told, “Come and get ’em”. There have been some tearful reunions. But the total reclaimed stands at fewer than 500, so the police are extending public collection until 5 September.

The twists of the case still have folk puzzled. Mr Kenk had seemed to some in the neighbourhood to represent a mostly benign throw-back to times before its gentrification, a man who was known occasionally to offer work to local down-and-outs including outpatients of a nearby mental clinic. He was even to be the subject of a documentary about his corner of Toronto. But then came his arrest and the discovery also of cocaine, crack cocaine and 15lb of marijuana. And he was found to live in one of its most expensive parts of the city, and had a highly esteemed concert pianist as his girlfriend, who also now faces charges.

Bike Thief falls for ‘Decoy’ Bike

velochick — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:49:34 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/v/EzJ1g-Ve8Ok&hl=en&fs=1″> name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”>http://www.youtube.com/v/EzJ1g-Ve8Ok&hl=en&fs=1” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”425″ height=”344″>

Cycle Racks – They are put in the wrong place!

velochick — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:34:13 +0000

The best ones I think are the ones in front of cafes. .then the thief is being watched! The snag is that, the bike thief may be in the cafe when you go off.

Still, it isn’t bad if you are just having a bite to eat and you can catch them at it.

Funny Bike Thief music Video

velochick — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:26:59 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/v/kno-m74gCTk&hl=en&fs=1″> name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”>http://www.youtube.com/v/kno-m74gCTk&hl=en&fs=1” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”425″ height=”344″>

Bike Thief tries to steal a bike in a busy area – and Fails

velochick — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:05:03 +0000

I liked this one.. He had it coming!

http://www.youtube.com/v/sOg3m0Koapw&hl=en&fs=1″> name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”>http://www.youtube.com/v/sOg3m0Koapw&hl=en&fs=1” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”425″ height=”344″>