Another bike thief arrested in Santa Cruz, and a bike theft foiled by vigilant owner

Santa Cruz police arrest yet another bike thief who was caught in the act. That’s number seven in the past six weeks reported in the news.

From the Sentinel police blotter:

36-year-old Patrick John Collins was arrested after a Center Street resident saw Collins coming out of the resident’s backyard with the his bike about 9:30 p.m. Monday.

The man fled on the cruiser and was spotted by an officer downtown a short while later.

Collins was arrested on suspicion of theft, violating felony probation and possession of ammunition.

And just this morning, an alert worker on Mission Street in Santa Cruz, CA noticed a man riding her bike past her office window. Dani writes on a local bicycle email list:

I saw him through window and chased him down the street and yelled for others to help. He dropped the bike and he ran. Cops took prints.

They said there’s a collaboration with people in Oakland and bikes stolen here brought there and bikes stolen there brought here and sold at flea markets and other places as well.

Lock up, and be vigilant. Bummer. It ended well though, broad day light, kind of shocking.

In Santa Cruz, we have an online database of stolen bikes. I’ve been visiting the Santa Cruz flea market to shoot photos of bikes in the hopes that somebody might see their stolen wares and maybe recover them. I’ve yet to see anything high end at the flea markets. I’ve heard the nice goods are shipped elsewhere for resale via Craigslist.

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