This Week in the Mercury
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Bikes Brazen Thieves Hit Six Downtown Bike Stores in One Week
Posted by Sarah Mirk on Tue, Nov 8, 2011 at 12:14 PM
A string of burglaries with the same brazen modus operandi has hit six downtown bike stores in the last week. In each case, one person or pair of thieves spend about 30 minutes removing a pane of glass from the store windows, then make off with specific bikes, mostly high end. Whoever is doing this seems to know exactly what they're looking for.
West End Bikes was robbed at 8am last Saturday morning, says owner Mark Ontiveros. "Our security video shows a man methodically starting to remove the molding on our door, it took about half an hour," says Ontiveros. West End is in the busy neighborhood on SW Stark 11th Avenue so when people walked by on the sidewalk, Ontiveros says the video shows the thief sitting down in the doorway: "I think people walking by thought he was a bum just sitting in the doorway, unfortunately there's so many people in doorways, you walk by and don't think it's suspicious."
Once the window was out, the man and a partner headed to the back of the store with bolt cutters and stole a 2011 Specialized Roubaix Pro Size 56 Dura Ace bike worth $4700. "This bike stands out, they'll have to move it out of town," says Ontiveros.
Up at 21st Avenue Bikes on NW 21st, Kyle Von Hoetzendorff says a break-in last Wednesday night took about 45 minutes. The pair of thieves took a bunch of bikes accessories and two Specialized road bikes for a total haul costing the shop about $10,000. "It definitely wasn't a smash and grab, it looked like they kind of knew what bike they wanted," says Von Hoetzendorff.
Downtown shops Performance Bicycles, Rack Attack, Integrated Health, and the US Outdoor Store were the victims of similar thefts since November 1st—the thieves took knives and high-end bikes.
Two of the stolen bikes have turned up at Occupy Portland, according to a police statement. Rack Attack's Curtis Deegan says one of his two stolen bikes (a Fat Tire Farm constructed Specialized bike worth $2600) was spotted by an employee as he biked to work past the Occupy Camp on SW 4th and Madison. The second was spotted by a Portland police officer.
Overall, bike theft appears to have dropped in the city before these recent incidents. The police are offering a cash reward for info leading to a conviction in this case, so call 503-823-HELP (4357) if you've got a tip on the thefts. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for suspicious people hanging around outside bike shop windows at odd hours.
3
Most Commented on Blogtown, PDX
-
City's "Overnight Sleeping" Program Finds First Host—and Neighbors React in Ugly Fashion by Denis C. Theriault
-
Oh, Did You Think The Great Gatsby Movie Was Going to Be Good? by Alison Hallett
-
Happy World Goth Day! by Marjorie Skinner
-
Feds Dish Out $745.2 Million to the Light Rail by Alex Zielinski
-
Game of Thrones Recap: Calm Before the Storm Edition by Joe Streckert
-
Good Morning, News! by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey
-
Portland Button Works Opens on Killingsworth by Alison Hallett
-
Ye Olde Underground Loo by Alex Zielinski
-
We're Number One! by Alex Zielinski
-
Mapping Destruction: City Releases Locations of Portland Hazards by Nathan Gilles
Our Friends
- UrbanHonking
- Culture Shock
- Portland Roundball Society
- Steph Cassano
- Cort and Fatboy
- Street Roots
- Powell's Books Blog
- Portland Transport
- Portland Afoot
- Bike Portland
- Eater: PDX
- Portland Food and Drink
- Mr. Movie
- Sunday Softball
- BlueOregon
- Sightline Institute
- Ultra: Arts Portland
- Bitch Magazine
- Blazer's Edge
- Reading Local: Portland
- Portland Food Carts
- Stumptown Vegans
Our Enemies
The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.
RSSGoing to Seattle?
Comments (4) RSS