After CDNews post, Judkins Park bike thief caught in police sting

When a thief stole a bicycle from one Judkins Park home, it’s doubtful he knew he was caught on camera. The couple had previously installed a security camera after too many car break-ins, and they posted images of the thief right here on Central District News.

Well, a few days later, they spotted the bike on Craigslist and told the police. They arranged to meet the seller (obviously not a CDNews reader) at 12th and Jackson, where the 17-year-old suspect was arrested. The bike was returned.

From SPD:

On February 5th, a victim reported that  his expensive bicycle had been stolen from his residence in the 1100 Block of 21 Avenue South.  The victim informed the officer that images of the suspect were captured on the victim’s security camera and those images were turned over to the officer. 

On February 11th, the victim contacted officers again after seeing an online post offering to sell his stolen bicycle.  The victim knew it was his bike because the post included photos of the bike.  The victim replied to the ad and arranged to meet the seller at 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street.  Officers coordinated with the victim in an attempt to recover his stolen property and arrest the suspect.

The suspect arrived with the stolen bicycle and was taken into custody by officers without incident.  The suspect is 17 years old.  The bicylce was recovered and returned to the owner after it was verified that it was the stolen bicycle.  East Precinct detectives will handle the follow up investigation.

10 thoughts on “After CDNews post, Judkins Park bike thief caught in police sting

  1. Great job, both by the victim and SPD. Too bad the perp is probably bask out on the streets as we read this.

  2. Very good job for the Resident. Not so sure about SPD. I would like to know what action they took to solve other crimes committed by the suspect. A good detectiver can typically get a confession to several related crimes. Whether the kid gets the penalty or not – it is good to get him to confess and inform the public that a larger number of crimes have been solve.

    Also, we need to change the rules on minors remaining anonymous. We have a thief in the neighborhood whom we should all be monitoring – for his own good. Let’s publicize his name and a better picture. Maybe the police can’t do it – but we can.

  3. the kid’s 17 years old, and it a bicycle, so cut him some slack.. when he’s a murdering psychopath, then you can talk about dropping his name to the whole neighborhood. .

  4. Well this ‘kid’ is a theif, and ruined already. Cut his hands off before he can escalate and hurt other innocents more. The moment we stop ‘cutting slack’ is the moment crime will drop. I say we post pictures of ‘this kid’ ALl over the neighborhood. I hate thieves.

  5. I’m no fan of stringing up petty offenders, but let’s keep in mind that this kid is most likely the same individual who broke into these folks’ car twice in the past. Now he feels comfortable enough to enter thier house and just take whatever he finds. That’s a rather bothersome beahvior pattern that needs to be detered asap, and I’d rather see the community respond and help him realize how he is hurting people rather than rely on the police to punish and turn him into a “bad boy”.

    He’s a youth in our community, it is our duty to make sure that he is given help recognizing the impact he has had on people’s lives, and furthermore given an opportunity to connect with us as neighbors, to see that real human beings live in all of these houses.

  6. The time stamp on the film shows it to be after 3am. Where were his parents? They need to keep a better eye on their kid. Maybe the parents should take responsibility for the kids actions.

  7. Jeez. Lucas is the one talking about cutting peoples hands off. I simply suggested we reckognize the kid and save him from himself. The point about being neighbors is that we get to know each other. Not hide devients in cloaks of anonymity.

  8. You’re right, he’s 17 and it’s a bike. Thankfully he was caught, and hopefully he will learn his lesson so he’s not 19 stealing a car, or breaking and entering a home. I’m not saying lock him up and throw away the key, I’m just saying getting caught early for lesser crimes and changing course is better than getting away with it and escalating his crimes.