Victoria, BC –A suspect in a break and enter is in custody and the rightful owner has been reunited with her bicycle after she found it for sale on a local website.
On July 3rd, a caller reported that her bicycle had been stolen from an underground parking garage in the 600-block of Michigan Street. After reporting her bike stolen, the caller decided to keep an eye out on local used goods websites in case her bicycle was posted for sale. On July 9th, she spotted her bike for sale online.
A friend called the seller and offered to meet to purchase the bicycle. When the suspected thief arrived for the meeting yesterday morning, he was met not by the friend, but by plainclothes VicPD officers. He was taken into custody and the bicycle returned to the rightful owner. Charges are being recommended including possession of stolen property.
Bike thefts continue this summer. In this case, the bicycle was locked and stored within a secured underground parking facility. The victim’s tenacity and online search for her bicycle greatly assisted the investigation and the suspect’s identification and arrest.
One of the ways you can protect yourself against bike theft is by registering your bike with us. Registering your bike makes it much easier for our officers to identify it as stolen and, in the event it is recovered, to return it to you. Our online bike registry is free. For more information please visit https://vicpd.ca/bike.
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