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Watch this Bike Thief Get Owned

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The owner of this stolen bike found it on Craigslist 160 miles away, sets up a home-made sting, confronted the thief and got his bicycle back and the thief arrested on a felony! The bike was locked up with a mid-range Kryptonite U-Lock, the thief broke the lock, and the lock was never recovered.

The cops were called just before the owner started talking with the thief, but it took Seattle PD 45 minutes to arrive.  Simon decided to confront him when they neglected to show up. Once he did, they rolled up as you can see in the video.

Have you had a similar experience? Share your rage story in the comments.

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22 Comments
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Ventruck
Ventruck
11 years ago

Original plan was strategic. Not really the owner’s fault things went a bit rough but I would’ve done the same too at that point. Was a good day indeed.

Adam
Adam
11 years ago

This is awesome. I am glad things turned out well. I just think he told him the police were coming much to early. Should have waited till they were visible then told him.

barfly
barfly
11 years ago

Coolest thing seen in long while. Big unknown was police response time. Was touch n go there for a bit but glad the po po showed up and acted on the information quickly. Got me thinking, how do you convince someone who doesn’t know bikes that it’s yours? Kick ass.

Speedy
Speedy
11 years ago

Typing Level: Seattle PD.

Yay reddit

Tim
Tim
11 years ago

Well done dude, a strong message well sent. “Don’t mess with bicyclists – we care about our rides”.

I recently had a Marin Bear Valley SE MTB stolen, it was a 17 year old bike but it was AWESOME to ride. I wasn’y lucky enough to spot it online 🙁

Jim
Jim
11 years ago

Good example of why you should write your name in hidden spots on the bike with a paint pen or engraver, like the inside of the steerer tube, the brake bolt, the skewer rod, inside of BB.

Brandon
Brandon
11 years ago

I remember a cop saying put your business card in the seat post or inside a tire (between tube and tire) write “THIS BIKE IS STOLEN, if name does not match name on this card, call Police. – Might not help most people out, but if the bike was ever taken to a bike shop for work it might work out.

Mata3
Mata3
11 years ago

All of this for a fuji?

Jim
Jim
11 years ago

Post this guy’s full name and Facebook page and lets find his girlfriend. We need to find out who they are where they work.

I would not want this guy as a co-worker.

K
K
11 years ago

Mata3 stop being a snob, it belongs to him and maybe the amount that it cost him is a lot when you consider what his salary is. I’m glad they caught this crook before he could get more bikes.

Sam
Sam
11 years ago

I respect that he went great lengths to find his bike. But nontheless, what if in another situation the person had actually purchasaed it from someone else (the thief)? If 1-3 years have lapsed since the bike was stolen, then who knows how many hands had exchanged the bike. I’ve bought a bike from Craigslist but have never did it again since because it’s always going through my head when I ride the bike – “what if the bike I purchased was stolen and I get nabbed in the future”? But then again, I’d have proof of the exchange in e-mail conversations leading up to the purchase of the bike if it ever comes to that.

The Lawyer
The Lawyer
11 years ago

The kid tired to do his homework and try to find a legit legal defense, which he got wrong!

efukt
efukt
11 years ago

I like his girlfriend

Masher
Masher
11 years ago

Lesson #1: if you’re going to confront a bike thief don’t bring your pussy bike friends. Bring some friends that can physically stop the guy. Good video though!

Brad4130
11 years ago

Great video !
Excellent work by the Orignal owner to get his bike back .
I too would have escalated this to physical altercation if I was that close to the guy for that long .
In the end any cop would have just said ” oh we’ll that didn’t work out too well for him ” ie: the theif so when all else fails – kick his ass !
Great video , glad you got your bike back and Craig went to jail.
I’m surprised they didn’t arrest his GF as a acomplice as well.

JoeKing
JoeKing
11 years ago

PLEASE people……DO NOT TRY THIS….this situation could (may) work out to the detriment of the guy whose bike was stolen.

Newsflash..thieves are bad people..duh..& by definition don’t play fair…ie..they may be violent!! Is retrieving your bike worth your life? Had this situation escalated & the thief not been a pussy & ran, many very bad outcomes were possible, not the least of which could have included the owner himself being charged with numerous felonies..assault, false imprisonment etc. What would have happened if the cops (finally) arrived & there was a fight going on…how would they have known who was who before they started cracking skulls?

Don’t believe for a minute the police will sympathize with you being the aggrieved party..we are ALL..perps in their eyes.

America in the 21st century IS NOT the wild west or some reality cop show..the good guys don’t always win..the thief may end up suing & the sale of the $2500 bike won’t go very far toward paying legal expenses.

This guy is very lucky the video doesn’t show him touching the thief..HE’D be screwed if it did.

Whatever
Whatever
11 years ago

Kind of irresponsible to post this here. Couple reasons. Glad it worked out, though.

In some areas, it can be a class A misdemeanor to use profanity in the presence of minors. A supermarket parking lot would constitute such an area, as was most of the public areas during the chase. Thus, the recorders could be charged when a prosecutor watches any of the raw video (all raw, not just the edited, will need to be reviewed for ANYTHING used here to be used in a case). Simply touching the alleged thief is also assault.

The alleged thief has a cause of action against these guys. Not that he will file, nor is he smart enough to do so anyway. But the stolen bike victims have opened themselves up to liability well above the simply the dubious value of a $2500 Fuji.

The girlfriend, etc. should have been entirely edited out of the video along with accusation made publicly about her involvement. Not smart one bit. She has a very good civil cause of action against the recorders.

The two things above are moot if both parties have, by the time of the video posing, been found guilty of the allegations made. Otherwise, their identities should have been obscured in the videos.

Joe King takes is a little far, but is right. Not really smart. Even dumber for BR to repost. He is right about cops. In general, they are not your friends and you NEVER want to deal with them except in matters of truly life-or-death. This isn’t. May seem so, but it isn’t even close.

Kovas
Kovas
11 years ago

Not sure how it is in other states, but in Colorado, being in possession of stolen property in excess of $2000 can land you a class-IV felony. That includes bikes.

Bike thieves suck.

Please click my website link – we’re still offering a cash reward for my wife’s BowTi…

Chipollini
Chipollini
11 years ago

This is grand theft, and should be prosecuted a such. If your bike gets stolen and you want to set up a sting get the police involved first so the is no worry about response time or have a female friend call 911, distressed white girls always get the cops roll’n. While some of the responses to this video have been discouraging this type of action, I applaud it. Yes its risky to confront criminals, but we need to do that to stop criminal behavior – we can’t be complacent. Legally if you detain someone you might be committing battery and or false imprisonment, but if its a citizens arrest it might be a different story… If it was me, I’d have set it up better and had more homies ready for a chase, and a bunch of zip ties to handcuff and hog tie. I think I’d want to take a trophy picture like a big game hunter with my quarry all tied up in front McDonalds or whatever. Also, if your involved in bike their like the horse faced girlfriend, you are an accomplice and deserve to have your face blasted all over the interwebs.

endurobob
endurobob
11 years ago

I have to say, watching this video makes me proud, seeing a fellow cyclist going out and taking matters into his own hands when his baby is stolen. That being said, there was definitely a “head in hands” type of moment in this video. When the alleged thief runs, the owner of the bike tries to get him to stop by yelling “CITIZENS ARREST”. Now I’m not one myself, but I’m pretty sure any criminal who hears “citizens arrest” being yelled at them isn’t going to just lie down with their hands behind their back saying “well, you guys got me”

pete
pete
11 years ago

@whatever

are you F*CKING serious??? it’s a misdemeanor to curse in front of a child? it happens everywhere all the time. and the DA or child’s parents would have to file a police report or complaint for action to be taken. don’t think that’s going to happen…

also the definition of assault is threatening another individual. battery is the physical violence. no your shit before you open your gap.

Sam
Sam
11 years ago

I’d like to extend my original comment after having read other comments. The victim would’ve been in really hot water if that guy wasn’t actually the thief (ie – he happened to have bought the bike from someone else) or if a fight had broken out. He could sue left and right – far exceeding the bike’s value (yes, the MSRP is $2500, but since the bike is used, it’s probably worth $1200). At the end of day, it’s smarter just to get the cops involved from the start. I’ve heard many stories where I live from bike-theft victims where they got cops involved in advance if they suspect the seller is the bike thief (ie – the cop pretends to be the buyer and meets up with the seller for you). And for the most part, the outcome is positive.

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