The Chainlink

I saved 2 bikes from being stolen last night. Chicago and Damen.

My post from Craigslist:

 

If you or anyone you know had 2 bikes locked together, and locked up, outside of CHICKPEA on Chicago, just West of Damen.... let them know. I have them safe in my garage.
Last night around 1am we witnessed a black man in a white van trying to steal them. He got the lock off that held the 2 bikes to the bike rack, but didn't get the bikes before we saw him and pulled over to stop him. We called 311, but the cop said if she took the bikes they would go straight into inventory. So...we took them and decided to be good bike owners. I would hate if we had left them and that guy had come back to take them.
So! I hope you read this. Your bikes are safe, although the seat on the black one is missing.
If they're yours, send me an email and tell me what kind of bikes they are and what brand seat is on the red one. I would love to get them back to their owners!!

 

Someone wanted more details and was pretty rude about it, so then I posted this:

Black man. Shaved head. About 5'10", 220lbs. Big white conversion van with tinted windows in the back, none on the side. He was using a skillsaw to cut the lock and covered it with a black tarp. I only noticed what was happening because sparks were flying out from under the tarp. I pulled over, he drove off. He cut the lock that held them to the rack, but not the one locking them to each other.
I have the license plate number, and gave it to the police officer. She believes it's a guy from Maywood who has done this before. In fact, she's sure of it.
Sorry if my first post lack all these details, dick. I'm just trying to get these people their bikes back. The cop told me that if she took them, they would end up in a police auction. She told ME to take them and thought my idea of putting up a Craiglslist post was fantastic. I was not about to leave them there unlocked, cause I knew the jerkface bike theif would come back for them.

 

Email me at sjstevens23@gmail.com if they are yours!

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nice job
XV - that's a great idea! However you need to verify that the information is correct and in this case it is not. IF (and it sure seems that way based on the other details) we are dealing with the same thief that the police are aware of (AA Male, white van, etc...) the plates that Sera posted are wrong. They are a match but for 2 digits. ( I took a pic of the plate on our last swap ride)

Now I think we are still dealing with the same person. BUT I think that it just happened that the plate was copied down or remembered wrong. This is a super common occurrence. Plates can be tough to read in a good situation but add stress, poor lighting, adrenaline. A lack of experience dealing with those situations. It's damn near impossible.

Here's the problem, and i want all the police bashers to read this. If the officer had responded to the scene and run the plate you gave him (which he shouldn't do since he didn't see it himself). And it coincidentally matched a white van as well, and he went storming over there with back up and went lookin for a crook, that isn't a crook, and that isn't there. What then?

This cop is now the one on the hook. And you are still just a civilian. Whoopsie? Sorry Officer?

There are regulations regarding running of plates and other things regarding this situation that don't allow the police to do what you want/wish which is be a fascist police state officer. They can't just willy nilly run plates and knock down doors and that's cause we all have rights.

Also, you stopped the theft. So say you did get the plate right. What then? The real crook does not have stolen merchandise. The police officer has the word of a stranger that some guy tried to steal something. Inadmissable as evidence. Sorry Charlie.

They weren't even your bikes, so there was no angle for the responding officer to take. Say everything lined up and he listened to Sera and went to this guys house. Then what? Sir this woman says you stole someone else's bike? Huh? I'm gonna show up to your house and say you stole my TV. It doesn't work that way either.

Take pics to document so that records are accurate. Then a WIKI page would work better. Also STOP RAGGIN ON COPS! Cops is plural. There are many out there and I'm friends with some of them. Good and bad. There are bad cops and good cops and you don't win points with either if you go in to the argument treating them as an asshole.

This cop did his job. Sera, you saved two bikes and returned them to the rightful owner, that is admirable! Well done! Beyond that this is done. We need to work with the police to get there support not badger them with nonsense.
Never saw a wiki that you could get people to participate in without a lot of effort.

The Bike Theft Task Force group was created for this purpose-- please use it.

http://www.thechainlink.org/group/chainlinkbikethefttaskforce

XV said:
Someone should setup a WIKI for aggregating bike thief info
Nice work man! That's pretty disturbing. Makes me wonder how often and organized this might be?
You rule!!!!
I'm thinking 'Why not do more?' was a suggestion and not a complaint.

T.C. O'Rourke said:
Gabe said:
1 good deed is great! Why not do more?

Boy, nobody ever does enough by your standards... I bet she didn't do the naked ride either.
WoW, TC - how do you take something positive and jerk it all to shit like that? ;-) Thanks Ryan, I've figured out that not everyone has the confidence that they pretend to ;-)

Nicely put, Howard. Bike people NEVER get into forum fights...they're all on the same side, right? ;P
Cute puppy! ;-)
hi everyone,
i'm new to this whole chainlink site... can you keep the fighting on my post to a minimum? seems pretty pointless. i don't want a site i thought would help to leave a bitter taste in my mouth.
thanks!
sj
Cheerfully withdrawn.

Sara Jean said:
hi everyone,
i'm new to this whole chainlink site... can you keep the fighting on my post to a minimum? seems pretty pointless. i don't want a site i thought would help to leave a bitter taste in my mouth.
thanks!
sj

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