Stolen bikes!!! Please keep a look out!!!(UPDATED May 23)

Can they or did they dust for prints around your garage to see if his prints are present?

 

Freakin awesome Gene - you are one lucky fellow!!!

Your Niner is fairly new, right?? She is a beaut ...

 

I bought the Niner off eBay back in Feb of 2012 and it was listed as "nearly new, high end" It was listed at $3000, but no one bid, so he re-listed it and lowered the starting and reserve. No one bid again and again for the 3rd time before I finally placed the only bid and won. just over $2100. Yes very lucky indeed, thanks!

No they didn't. 2 uniformed LAPD officers just came over and took a report. As I mentioned earlier that they has 1 in custody and he had his court appearance this morning on a FELONY receiving stolen goods. The detective working the case was in court this morning and he emailed me that they are working on arresting a 2nd suspect. I'm not sure if the thumb print left with the pawn shop was the guy they have in custody or if the 2nd suspect, I'll know more once I speak to the detective hopefully tomorrow so we can make arrangements to get my Niner out of the pawn shop.

 

It's nice to see bikes being recovered for a change.

 

Thanks. I picked up my NINER this morning, but had to pay $300 which is what the pawn shop loaned the guy who pawned it. According to the detective, the person who was arrested was not the same guy who pawned the bike and left a thumb print so there is a 2nd suspect.

As far as the guy who was arrested, the Assistant D.A. was not going to charge him cause there is not enough evidence to charge him and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he bought the bikes knowing the bikes were stolen. He is sticking to his story that he did not know the bikes were stolen and that he tried to get them back to me. The Assist D.A. would not be able to get a conviction without proof or eye witnesses so for now, he walks.

The guy who pawned the Niner is yet to be determined, but the police are still following leads on that and hopefully an arrest will be the result. The officer in charge of the case did say that they found a link between the 2 suspects. Still 1 bike out there and I'm hopeful that will return soon as well.

I'll be filing a claim for the bike still missing as well as the tools stolen, my road shoes, seat bag that had a multi-tool, spare tube, tire levers, replacing the brake hose and pedals on the Tribal and the cost to claim my Niner from the pawn shop. Still going to be a pricey claim. The tools alone are going to be expensive to replace since they were bike specific tools, but not nearly as expensive as the 3 bikes recovered.

 

Gene,

I'm glad you got most of your bikes back. Atleast the expensive ones did so far. I would have thought the Pawn Shop would be a$$ed out since they purchased stolen goods. Isn't it the Pawn Shop's responsibility to make sure the items they take in aren't stolen?

 

Thanks Andy. Ya, not sure how it works since the guy only took out a loan and not sell it to them, but I would think they need to sure before they purchase something. Obviously he was NOT planning on paying the $300 back and the pawn shop would then own the bike after a period of time.

 

My only experience is Pawn Stars and I remember Rick Harrison talking about receiving stolen goods. He's real adamant about not receiving stolen goods because if it's stolen, they're outta the money. That's why they always ask where the item came from and how the seller is in possession of it.

The guy who brought it in for the $300 was never gonna come back, that's my assumption. You don't buy a bike only to turn around and get a loan for it. Anyways, I'm happy you got your stuff back Gene. I'm sure feeling violated pisses you off more. Had someone break into my car but didn't steal anything. I was pissed, but also sad, I had nothing worth stealing. They didn't even take the change in cup holder, haha.

 

Wow Gene! Just saw this! So awesome and happy for you! Hope the other one comes home soon!

 

To think that only a little over a week has passed since this incident.

 

Gene congrats to you for all your hard work and in getting back the 3 bikes. I am happy and surprised at how sucessful you were!

I would be interested to know, when you work out the claim with the insurance company, what issues they have. For instance can you claim the $300 you had to pay to get the niner back? Personally (at least I would give it a shot) I would argue that it's a result of the theft and part of the loss etc. I am surprised that you had to pay because I always thought regardless if the person (ie pawn shop) knew the goods were stolen or not, they forfeit the money. Many years ago my father brought a TV from a "friend", it was determined stolen and the police took the TV from my dad. He was out the money. I suspect the pawn shop knows they can never gain possession of stolen goods but I know nothing of the law. I just live in fear of this happening to me as well. What a hassle and nightmare for you.

 

Thanks Pam. Ya I contacted my insurance adjuster and he told me to include the $300 amount to my claim. From what I was told by the investigating officer, that certain laws are in place to protect the pawn shop and it's up to the shop owner to either get the money from me knowing I can claim it as a cost resulting from the theft or take a loss.

I was already emailed the forms last Friday and was instructed to include everything I lost such as every tool that I had stolen when they took the tool bag I put together for bike maint. I'm also going to be including damages like the pedals and brake line and what it will cost to replace them. They will research my claim and determine the value after depreciation and then pay me the replacement cost to make up for the lost value since I'm covered for that.

So if they decide my claim is worth $600 for the 4th bike, tools, shoes and repairs to the tribal, but it cost me $750 to actually get everything replaced, they will pay the replacement cost. Thing is, my $250 deductible will be deducted from the $600. Hope this makes sense. I'm off for 3 days in will be in the process of itemizing my claim down to the last tool. I guess I'll have to wait and see what I will be rewarded.

 

Bottom line the cost to replaced some stolen items and repair damage is still way less then the insurance company would have to pay if they had to compensate you for the bicycles (I have 4 bicycles I ride - none of them are cheap!). Hopefully they are happy and grateful for all your hard work. I am alittle angry that the law is the way it is and these creeps will get away with what they have done... to them, worth stealing... they may not get caught and even if caught... nothing will happen. So for now I have multiple chains and locks on all the bikes and of course, even that won't stop a thief... just awful!

 

Locks just keep honest people honest. If someone's fixing to have your gear, they're gonna take it. It's too bad it doesn't fall under the felony grand theft category. I feel if the punishment was more severe, it would have a significant impact.

 

He was arrested for a FELONY receiving stolen goods, but it could not be proven that he knew the bikes were stolen. I, as well as the officers who made the arrest, investigated and even the Assist D.A think he was the one who stole the bikes, but there is no proof. Felony grand theft varies from state to state as each state places it's own dollar amount. For California, that amount is $950. Here is a link that best explains Penal Code 487: http://www.shouselaw.com/grand-theft.html

So if you read "The Legal Definition of Grand Theft in California" he could have been charged with Felony Grand Theft if there was proof he was the one who stole or charged with Felony receiving stolen goods if he knew the items were stolen and still received it.

 

Do we have this guy's picture to post on the Web/Social Media to let people know to be on the lookout?

 

I would still suggest they check for prints at your house to verify the guy is telling the truth. That will either convict him or exonerate him....the prints can also be cross checked w/ the print at the pawn shop to see if the guy who got the "loan" was the thief or if there was a 3rd guy....The news a few weeks ago showed a group of 3 guys in Venice caught on video casing and checking houses/garages...

 

No, I don't. I never seen the guy even the night I went to pick up my bikes at the police station since he was in custody.

There really isn't anything in the garage to check since the bikes were hanging on one of these racks and the on hook from the ceiling.



They cut the cable or lock, took the bikes and took my tool bag that was sitting next to bikes and also my shoes. They didn't even take the boom box on top of the small fridge, my golf clubs, surf board or my brand new BBQ still in the box. I'm sure they looked at video from the pawn shop and they already know who that person is because the officer told me the 2 were connected and not just 2 random guys who bought bikes off some stranger.

 

Very happy to hear you got most of the bikes back Gene!

Don't bet on any favors from the insurance company though for recovering bikes on your own. I would be careful to consider any claim you do make for whatever costs remain. Make sure it is worth it. Insurance companies are a business not your friend. Since you have notified them sadly it would not surprise me if they hold the theft against you even if you don't make a claim. They will not high-five you for getting 3/4 bikes back on your own and saving them some cash. If you do claim, you just become a higher risk.

I had two losses in a two year period. One my truck was broken into on a road trip. The other a bike was stolen, similar value to your SS. Before claiming the hardtail I asked if it would affect my rates. State Farm said it would not. And it didn't, but they cancelled my policy as they said they could no longer accept the risk of covering me. When I tried to replace the coverage most other companies would not cover someone with 2/+ claims within 5 years. I had to settle on a policy that cost twice as much as what I had with State Farm. Had I known 2nd claim would end coverage I would not have made the claim. I could have replaced that bike for less than what the added cost is on my new policy over a few years.

 

Thanks! Pretty happy right now!

I thought about it hard after I recovered the 3 most expensive bikes and if it weren't for the other items(bike tools, road shoes), I would not file. Once I started to add up the cost to replace these items, I felt it would be worth it to make a claim. My deductible is $250 and the cost to replace the bike tools, new road shoes, pedals and repairs/replacement parts to the Tribal would be a lot more. I'm not worried about the value of the 4th bike still out there cause that bike was built on spare parts I had laying around. I just needed a set of brakes and pedals which I bought used on eBay to complete that build. Just wondering if I should add that bike to my claim since it doesn't bring any real value and I still feel that I'm going to recover that as well since I was told there will be a 2nd suspect arrested and he as well as the 1st guy arrested can still be tied to the actual burglary. Fingers crossed!