BikeDC

“Dear PoPville,

My bike was stolen on Monday, November 21 near the corner of Nebraska and Massachussetts Ave. It’s a Trek 4300 mountain bike, Women’s Specific Design. It’s silver gray with thorn-like details. There are water bottle and tire pump holders, spoke lights, head and tail lights, and odometer wiring. It was locked with a 5/8″ thick Kryptonite flex combo cable and a silver gray Trek helmet.”

If you think you may have seen the bike please email [email protected] or leave a tip in the comments.

Ed. Note: If your bike has been stolen send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail with Stolen Bike in the subject line. Please include a photo, the location where it was stolen, if there is anything distinctive about the bike, what type of lock you used and let me know if you’d like me to include your email address with the post. If you think you may have seen the bike please share your tip in the comments.

“While I was out of town for my grandfather’s funeral, my front door was kicked in by a particularly brazen burglar. This happened in broad daylight around noon right off busy Florida Avenue in the U Street area. Luckily, one of my neighbors happened to return home shortly after the break in and called the police for me. The timing could not have been worse as I received the call from the responding officer with the bad news as I was leaving the funeral service. The burglar stole my bright orange, diamond frame Public bike, a laptop, my brand new bike lights, and a backpack. I know the chance that I’ll see any of my stuff again is pretty much zero, but I’m holding out hope that because my bike is so distinctive, maybe someone out there in PoPville has seen it? I’ve seen a couple orange step-through and mixte frame Public bikes riding around dc, but I haven’t seen any other diamond frames like mine, so it really might be the only one. Any help would be appreciated!”

and

“As I noted a few weeks ago, my house was burglarized and they took my bike, among other things. It is a brand new white Giant Avail with red trim – you’ll know it’s mine when you see 2 red cup holders attached to the frame and a small bike repair kit bag behind the seat. Please grab it! I’ll pay you back if you have to buy it, just email me at [email protected].”

and

“My bike was stolen from the NY Ave Metro. It’s a green Surley Pacer, now with silver rain guards.

sure, include this email address: [email protected]”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

From a WMATA press release:

“When a teenager tried to steal a bicycle parked outside of the Prince George’s Plaza station last night (Nov. 15), members of the Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) Crime Suppression Team immediately moved in and apprehended him.

What the young man did not know was that the bicycle belongs to the Metro Transit Police and officers in casual clothing were nearby, closely watching the bicycle and the person about to steal it.

MTPD is using innovative techniques, including decoy bicycles, to further reduce crime in the Metro system. The Crime Suppression Team targets bicycle thefts and snatch robberies, identifies suspects, and makes immediate arrests. Since the team began their efforts about a month ago, it has made dozens of arrests, stopping would-be bicycle thieves and robbery suspects trying to escape with victims’ electronic devices such as iPhones or cash. The team also has arrested individuals for simple assault, drug and weapons possession.

“We are employing new tactics to combat bike theft and theft of electronic devices, such as iPads and iPhones. The teams are doing a great job in addressing crime and keeping our customers safe,” said Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn.

“During the holiday season we traditionally see an increase in robberies. While we’re taking steps to keep customers safe, we also need the public to do their part too,” Taborn said. “Remain aware of your surrounding and take steps to protect yourself and your property.”

Yesterday I started a new series called Have You Seen My Stolen Bike?. I’m psyched one bike from yesterday’s post has been returned (and we got some leads on the other bike.)

“Dear PoP,

my sister and i were driving up the alley and passed someone who i recognized as a local homeless fella standing in a driveway holding a bicycle. it took me a moment to realize that he most likely doesn’t own a bike and that he was probably stealing it, so i decided to go back and stop him. in the few minutes it took me to return, some other people in the alley had caught him in their backyard snooping around and were holding him until the police came (he has stolen stuff from them before). i pointed out that i saw him with a bike and we found it stashed in the next driveway. we couldn’t prove that it was stolen since we were unable to identify the owner of the bike, but the cops arrested him for trespassing and impounded the bike. i took some photos and was going to make up some flyers and post it on p.o.p. when i came across the owner’s posting.”

Prior to that a couple of other readers wrote in with tips.

Finally:

“Dear PoP,

I’m happy to report that after your post on my wife’s stolen bike, we were able to recover it from the hundreds held by MPD. Getting the bike back was a major relief, and it was extra-pleasing to see an appeal to our PoPville neighbors work so effectively.

Most of the credit goes to a neighbor on our block who observed the thief (a habitual drunk with a long history of petty crime) lean my wife’s bike against a gate to another house on our alley and surreptitiously enter that yard. The observing neighbor called to a resident at the house, who immediately recognized the thief, called the police, and held the man until they arrived. The police arrested the man for unlawful entry and will now also charge him with theft.

(BTW, the MPD, contrary to certain comments to the earlier post, displayed an avid interest in returning our bike and augmenting charges against the thief.)

The happy outcome of this episode is a great stroke of luck. But it illustrates the great potential for fighting crime in neighbors actively looking out for one other. It also shows the powerful role that communication here can play. As you know, we received multiple leads from your readers, and we wouldn’t have recovered the bike without them.

Thanks PoPville!

Ted and Miranda”