Bike Thieves Caught!

Just got back from the lakefront. Biked to Wilson and the path, ran 4 miles and was coming back and found an unmarked poice car, a patrol wagon, and six guys against the car. My front wheel was off but I was able to put it back on. Not quick release btw.

Turns out these guys had stolen a seat and tire from somebody's bike in front of Chava coffee (Leland/Wilson) right while the owner was in there She saw them, gave chase, called the cops, and the cops found the guys at the lakefront. They brought the owner by and kept her in the cop car to ID them.

Her wheel was on one of their beater bikes and they were carrying her seat.  So what they do is smart..they bike around and find hiqh quality bikes and then swap out the wheels to use on their beater  bikes until they sell the wheel. They were on mountain bikes so it looked strange with a fat mountain tire bike on the back and a road tire on the front (nice Shimano!).  My guess they would have swapped the seats too if they had the time. Mine is a hybrid with a comfort seat which they may not have been interested in.

The cops searched them and found an Allen wrench and several small knives. They said they couldn't charge them for my wheel theft because they didn't see them steal my tire (the boys said my tire was just sitting there!). My bike frame on a kryptonite and the locked tire were untouched. I lock the back tire because I have enclosed gears that would be stolen if the rear tire was taken.  

The cops kept saying that because they were juvies they will just get a slap on the wrist.  

I have been running by the lake for 10 years....never a problem with my bike though I never leave it  in the middle of a weekday.  Now I see I'll need to lock my second tire everywhere. At my health club in Andersonville - LSAC - nobody locks both tires - but I'm going to start doing it.

I've always wondered who steals things like tires and seats. These guys were obviously organized...with an Allen wrench and on bikes. Shocked there were six of them.  They were truly diverse...Hispanic, black, and South Asian from their looks.  Looked about 17.  None large or looked strong...would definitely have challenged them if I arrived while they were in the act.

The punk who had the Allen wrench and a knife was named Leonardo Chardo.  They cuffed him and one other guy.  

And no, I don't care if he is only 17;  he is still a thief.  I told them all they were thieves and that felt good. They seemed really humiliated up against the squad car..at least there for 25 minutes while I was there. Cops did a very nice job..thought didn't seem interested in seeing us going to court. I thanked them profusely.

So now even when I run or go out to the store I need to carry a second lock. What a pain!

Views: 1644

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on April 29, 2013 at 9:13am

I've been chaining both wheels since I started biking into town regularly seven years ago.  Just get a cable or something.

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on April 29, 2013 at 9:24am

It's easy to take a chain when I go to work or shopping as I have my pannier. But when I run at the lake - which is about every day - wrapping up a cable properly is a pain.

I have a second u lock - a lousy lightweight Bell Lock - that is easy to slide on my rack.  That will deter them. And if they can cut a lock they'll be able to cut my kryptonite as well.

fwiw these guys did not have cable clippers..just an allen wrench for stealing tires/seats.

Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on April 29, 2013 at 9:46am

Start carrying pepper spray too...now they know what you look like...

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on April 29, 2013 at 9:56am

Ha..I'm not scared.  I didn't turn them in.

I think it was opportunistic.  They must have headed for the lakefront after they were seen on Clark stealing the girl's seat.  Probably figured they could blend in with other bikers and cops don't go up and down the path.  Then they saw my bike and it was too tempting.

Seems like a lot of work and risk for the $25 or whatever they can get for a wheel and tire.  And given they were on bikes it doesn't seem they could carry many seats without it being so obvious that they were stealing.

Permalink Reply by John C. Wilson on April 29, 2013 at 11:57am

IANAL nor do I do impersonations. Naming a minor and calling him out makes me queasy. Someone else can tell you if that's actionable but why go near there when there's no need. The ethnic characterizations above are reprehensible. Two wrongs (three wrongs) do not make a right. This post should be pulled.

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on April 29, 2013 at 1:22pm

First there are no characterizations of an ethnicity. I describe them as a "diverse" group and then identify what appears to be their ethnicity.  It is not suggested or implied - in any way - that bike thievery is associated with any ethnicity/group.  Intended to be an observation...I dont' see a lot of multiracial "gangs" in uptown so I thought it was worth pointing it out.

Second, I agree that writing his name was a bit much. Obviously I was and am still angry and as the cops wouldn't arrest him - or at least discouraged me from pursuing this was my way of venting.  FWIW I saw them take the Allen wrench and a sizeable knife out of his pocket (he gave his name to the cop shortly after).

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on April 29, 2013 at 1:25pm

It would be good if somebody could work with somebody like them.  I can't say they seemed like career criminal types. That being said, I did a lot of stuff at their age but never stealing others' things.  And with an Allen wrench in hand, this was obviously an organized effort. My guess is they have two guys doing lookout and the others steal the seat and tire. What they didn't suspect is that the bike's owner was sitting in Chava coffee watching them.

h' 1.0 said:

I wouldn't be surprised if they're basically the same bunch that hits Lincoln Square and points further west roughly along the Lawrence corridor frequently.

Unfortunate byproduct of the current bicycling renaissance.... I'm sure we had plenty of bicycle ganglets roaming the city doing similar things back in the seventies.

Back in the day Tim H might have taken them under his wing.  Does Uptown Bikes still do any informal outreach to youth?

Permalink Reply by Vilda on April 29, 2013 at 2:50pm

Hey John C. What was done above was a term called "Description". You see that's the only way other people know what other people look like in written form. If they had been 3 white guys or 3 black guys or in this case the United Colors of Beneton it would still just be description. And as for Leonardo Chardo I'm hoping he has a record. Cause while the kids "looked embarrassed" while leaning up against the cop cars. That is usually an act. If they know what to do they are complacent as puppies while the Police are there and they turn into the garbage they are when they are free.

Permalink Reply by yai danche on April 29, 2013 at 4:19pm

i wonder where they're unloading these seats and wheels.  also, do a lot of people buy one wheel?  i can see how easy they could get away with it, too.  lots of people take their seat or wheel with them so it wouldn't look odd if they were walking away from a bike rack carrying those things.  

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on April 29, 2013 at 5:14pm

funny that you mention it but I wonder the same thing myself. First, I can tell you that at least these guys were smart enough to buy expensive brand name wheels/rims on my bike and the girl's. So they knew what they were doing.

No bike store will buy parts -  used no less - from some guy off the street.  And of all my friends who bike they buy exclusively from stores and would only buy wheels in sets.  I can't imagine selling one used wheel/tire on ebay/craigslist will get you many calls. 

So I am puzzled..seems a strange risk/reware strategy. Seats I'm guessing people steal for personal use.  There must be some place where they sell wheels/tires......must be some fence who bundles them up in huge lots for sale.  Actually I thought about asking them about it. They were all on beat up mountain bikes so had no use for wheel with thin rims.  

Permalink Reply by Albany Park Al on April 30, 2013 at 1:25am

My teen son had two bikes stolen last year, one from NSCP (Bryn Mawr/Kedzie) and one from a friend's garage during a party (Ravenswood Hospital area), then when we replaced the second bike, his front wheel (bolt on) was stolen while he was in a pizza shop.  I wonder if it was a bunch of teen knuckleheads like this, or maybe even these very guys, who did the latter two.  The theft from the school involved a lock being cut, so was more 'professional.'

Permalink Reply by John C. Wilson on April 30, 2013 at 1:50am

Thank you Daniel G.

Hello jolondon. You sound like a much nicer person now that you're less angry.  A keyboard is generally not your friend when you are angry. If you can bear it I'm going to give you some more advice. It will be the last time, cause I'm not coming back to this board. Above you talk about how you would challenge these kids if you had the chance. Thinking about revenge is pretty normal after you've been injured. You may think those thoughts quite a while after an incident. Adults in this society are not allowed to get physical with kids. Thinking about getting physical with kids is a bad idea. Publicly musing about what you might do to kids is extremely poor tactics. Even if you hit a kid while purely acting in self-defence, and you know in your  mind you have done nothing wrong, someone else may have a conflicting story and you can be in deep legal trouble. If you want something from a kid you have to get it by being smarter and quicker than he is. If you can't think of anything better than physical force and the thief is a minor you might have to watch that bike walk.

A few years back when I lived in Rogers Park I got mugged one evening. Anyone reading this already has a preconception about the racial identity of the muggers. That's how we live. The police came. I was already bleeding and concussed. The cops wanted me to use words like "garbage" to describe my assailants. Sorry, even when concussed I will not play that game. So the cops started to hit me, thinking force might be a good motivator. By this time of the evening I was surrounded by half a dozen cops, all white, and a dozen of my neighbors. None of my neighbors were white. They came to the defence of a white man. They shamed the cops and they stopped the cops. With words. Words are powerful.

I am so white my German History professor once asked me to stand up in front of the class to display what an Aryan looks like. Then he asked me to state my origins. More diverse than you would guess looking at me. And I didn't even know all my 'diversity' until I was an adult. Many people don't. Many people never do. One of the few things your grandmother will lie about is exactly where you come from.

Telling me someone is South Asian or Hispanic tells me nothing about how they look. Hispanics come in all colors of the rainbow. So do South Asians. My Rogers Park neighbors endlessly surprised me when they told me where they'd come from. My presuppositions were always wrong. I don't care where you come from. I care what you do.

I did not call jolondon a racist. I didn't think he was. I think he made an unfortunate choice of words. That happens to anyone when they are angry. Gabe, I know what you are. You're plain about it. You've got a home here at the Chainlink. The hall monitors here approve of the way you speak. Cyclists against the world. I want no part of it.

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service