Southern California - Robbery on SART

Last night I was commuting from work in Costa Mesa to my home in Orange on the Santa Ana River Trail like I have done thousands of times before. Around 6:15 I was heading North between McFadden and 1st St. 5 or 6 males 16-24 or so, jumped out of the bushes and attacked me, gave me a good ass beating and took off with my bike, with all my belongings and work clothes, that were in my bags attached to the bike.

I was riding around or just under 20MPH headed north. They jumped out of the bushes. I think the first 2 or 3 jumped out and missed me, one of them go the back wheel, and one of the last few landed a body blow knocking me to the ground. I think my shoes came unclipped in the fall and was immediately surrounded by all of the guys. They circled me and started kicking me and punching me. Luckily I was wearing my helmet, it seemed like most of the kicks were going to the head. I was trying to make it back to my bike where I keep my pepper spray wrapped around my stem. Needless to say, I didn't make it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v60/toobspunk/IMG_0175.jpg
Specialized Allez...My bike also has a black rack on the back. Smaller bars,(shallow/narrow), no front derailleur, had an airzound.
If you see my bike please put a lock on it and call the police.

wow, i am really sorry to hear that.

Yikes. You filed a police report, right?

Holy crap...6:15 pm!

Horrible! I always suspected I'd never want to be in that area once it started getting dark and this confirms it. Sucks for people that need to use the SART for commuting. Sucks this happened to you man.

On the SART I'll only ride north of Katella after dark.

So how are you anyway?

what a disgrace ! Good luck getting better and getting a bike . File that police report asap if you haven't yet .

I ran to a nearby backyard with people in it, they called 911. I made sure to give the police any info I could think of. It all happened so quick, I was not able to get a good look at them, but somehow in the struggle I ended up with one of the guys shirts in my hand.

I am ok, just sore like I would be after an accident like that, plus a few extra bumps and bruises.

Thanks to all for the worries.

Karma will get these people one way or another. Unfortunately there are people who live like this, deliberately planning and carrying out unconscionable acts that most of civilized society wouldn't ever consider. People who live like this are headed in one direction only: down.

My wife and I were the victims of such people recently, but fortunately they just broke into our car and no one was hurt.

Good luck to you. I hope you keep biking.

Damn. Ride on the street and risk getting hit by a car, ride on SART and risk getting attacked by lunatics. Scumbags. Was the trail empty?

Dang, thats sucks bigtime. The section of the SART between Harbor Blvd/Warner Ave. north to the bridge over to the golf course (just north of the propane yard) is considered gang turf, but its safe to ride during the day (plenty of people around). I suspect it was pretty deserted at 6:15 pm on a Friday evening (about sunset?), giving the local gangbangers ample opportunity to take advantage of someone coming by (like you). Its good you're OK. Get that police report filed with the Santa Ana PD and include the bike's serial number so you have a chance of getting your bike recovered.

Dude, really sorry about this, it sucks balls. I quit commuting in my neck of woods for same reason, almost got mugged twice, one was arrested and had a knife on him. When a gang does this it is best just to hand over what they want, nothing you can do, guarantee one of them has a weapon and will kill. If you would have used that pepper spray it would have been fatal. I hope you get the bike back through insurance or pure luck by the police.

So sorry about your loss.. I would take a pic of your bike to the local pawn shops and keep your eye on Craiglist to see if it comes up.. If it does, contact law enforcement to help you get it back, I imagine if you are dealing with a gang element, you do not want to meet them to get your bike back.

Man that totally bites! I believe in Karma and hope these turds don't run into me! Im glad you are not seriously hurt..on the bright side, it could have been worse!

I'd be really tempted to pedal past that same spot every day at the same time, with some sort of plan for retaliation.

I posted a link to another forum to keep a look out and a warning for that area.

Rode SART today from Costa Mesa to Orange. Saw a few homeless camps under the bridges. It's been a long time since I've ridden it at night through Santa Ana- never again. Those assclowns were looking to do some serious damage. I generally take Fairview to Sunflower to get to Grand to get to Orange. Parents still live there.

Sorry to hear it. Will keep my eyes open. Bet the bike will get spray painted and sold for cheap.

Sorry that happened to you man. I commute on SART everyday, that length from the wood bridge to harbor has always been sketchy. What is messed up about this is that it was still relatively light outside. Does anyone else commute in that area? If so, what time(s)? There is power in numbers.

Damn, M. Too bad you couldn't get to that pepper spray. I had a few run-ins with those little bastiches in that area over the years I used the SARTP. They never got the jump on me and even if they did, none of them would have fit on my bikes to ride them away. Get an old road bike, convert it to fixed gear and continue your commute. Don't ever let those little creeps win by keeping you from doing what you do.

I'm really sorry to hear that.

Very sorry to hear it too. But I'm glad you're not seriously injured.
As much as I love my bikes, I'd cram them all into a woodchipper if it meant keeping the physical ability to ride.
I hope the rest of your miles are safer and happier. Hang tough, brother!

I once got pinned down on the trail under an overpass just south of the South Coast Plaza by a kid with a 22 rifle who must have shot at least 30-40 shots. His aim sucked, but he was very persistant at taking a shot at me every time I stuck my head out to try to get away. It took about an hour for someone to report it and for the cops to find him and apprehend him. Needless to say I avoided that route for several months before I rode it again.

I can't believe this post isn't getting more attention - the OP is crazy, but this is insane! It's like a sniper movie or something. Getting pinned down under an overpass by a sniper, that makes my last run in with a jerk in a car seem pretty tame

I'd say stealthammer's post has gotta be pure trolling B.S. The area south of South Coast Plaza has been fully developed for decades, and its not a bad area. There are no underpasses that don't have well-traveled streets running under them, and there's no way you could fire off a gun without attracting a hoard of cops really quickly. Total B.S.

Late 1990, Adams underpass, just north of Fairview Park, shots came from the east side of the wash, fired by a white crackhead skater from his bedroom window.....

You can verify the incident with SAPD or the Orange County Register. But your opinion doesn't mean ***** to me. I was there. You are talking out of your a$$....

The Adams Ave. underpass along the Santa Ana River Trail? Which is just north of Fairview Park? That isn't anywhere near South Coast Plaza. Its at least 5 miles away in a straight line on a map, a lot farther if traveling by city streets. And that area isn't near the City of Santa Ana either - the Huntington Beach police or Costa Mesa police would respond to gunfire in that area. Better check a map before describing locations. Not an area I'd consider dangerous, so your experience must have been an isolated incident.

That's strange but on Saturday, there were at least 2 cop cars on SART in the SA area. Wonder if they had reports of suspicious characters?

That's strange but on Saturday, there were at least 2 cop cars on SART in the SA area. Wonder if they had reports of suspicious characters?

A cop car was also parked on the SART right at the golf course south of the 22 today. Several miles north of the attack area, but still probably Santa Ana city limits.

I'd be really tempted to pedal past that same spot every day at the same time, with some sort of plan for retaliation.

+1

I'd be really tempted to pedal past that same spot every day at the same time, with some sort of plan for retaliation.

Nachoman: when you meet up with them, say this: "Well punk, do you feel lucky? Make my day". (Inspector Harry Callahan, SFPD) "Dirty Harry".

Nachoman: when you meet up with them, say this: "Well punk, do you feel lucky? Make my day". (Inspector Harry Callahan, SFPD) "Dirty Harry".

That will only work if you are packing this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_%26_Wesson_Model_29 :D

Thanks for all the care. Good to know the police are making their presence known. I put up signs all over the area. A homeless guy saw the signs and found me. He has heard everything. He thinks its a group of teenagers that 1 of them lives in a house that backs up to the trail, on the east side(the main side where everyone rides). He says they try to start problems for the homeless ocassionally, but have never actually faught them. He also says he has heard of the causing problems on the trail before, but never anything like this. Don't know whether to believe they guy, but will be passing the info onto SAPD and will put fliers all over that neighborhood.

Was it close to sunset when this happened.. I have ridden this trail hundreds of times and other than some odd encounters with homeless people has been pretty good in terms of safety..

It would be nice to be able to go door-to-door to the homes backing up to the path, handing out your fliers...accompanied by a policeman. If the homeless guy is right, you'd probably end up knocking on the door where the punks came from.

It would be nice to be able to go door-to-door to the homes backing up to the path, handing out your fliers...accompanied by a policeman. If the homeless guy is right, you'd probably end up knocking on the door where the punks came from.

Of course the police don't have time for that. Sadly, it's just a bike and an assault which in Santa Ana equates to a non-crime.

You don't have to be on the trail to have punks take your bike. Its happened here in Downey where teens are riding there bike on the streets and get stopped by two or three idiots and get robbed of there bike, money, phone, anything of value. You can be walking down the street and a car full of robbers will get out and just rip you off and leave in a hurry. Rio Hondo to the Los Angeles river bed south to Shore Line Village is kept free of shrubs and bushes next to the trail to make it hard for anyone to hide in waiting. I do see squad cars from time to time on the riverbed trails. Short of carrying a firearm in a fannie pack its almost impossible to react in time, especially if there are many attackers that knock you off your bike.

I'm really sorry to hear about this. I haven't been commuting back and forth through that area since early September, and I was starting to get nervous about it being dark and who knows who lurking and waiting. I have three little kids at home, and I can take the risk. I'll have to look at some other routes to get from South Coast Plaza to Anaheim Hills.

..........Short of carrying a firearm in a fannie pack its almost impossible to react in time, especially if there are many attackers that knock you off your bike.

If the OP had carried a gun in a fanny pack, odds are he would have also lost the gun. A surprise attack by 6 people is guaranteed to take out anybody, including fictional detectives.

I'm really sorry to hear about this. I haven't been commuting back and forth through that area since early September, and I was starting to get nervous about it being dark and who knows who lurking and waiting. I have three little kids at home, and I can take the risk. I'll have to look at some other routes to get from South Coast Plaza to Anaheim Hills.

Not to say the OP is at fault but the trail hours posted states that during this time of year, the trail closes at 6:00pm or 6:30. Other times of the year later. Maybe the posted times are an attempt to keep people off at dark to avoid these situations.

My issue is, I can't leave at 4:30 to get home while there is still some light, which is going to be the case one we get the time change. The simplest alternate route is Jamboree and a long, long climb all the way home.

My issue is, I can't leave at 4:30 to get home while there is still some light, which is going to be the case one we get the time change. The simplest alternate route is Jamboree and a long, long climb all the way home.

Compromise and use your car and hopefully you have an SUV to put the bike in the back. Then drive part of the way and ride the rest of the way.

Of course the police don't have time for that. Sadly, it's just a bike and an assault which in Santa Ana equates to a non-crime.

I guarantee that the police take robberies and beatings by gangs of thugs VERY seriously. It is true that they've got better things to do than pass out flyers with you.

Lets see. I often rode down from Claremont through Azuza, then down to PCH, so in fact it is near South Coast Plaza to me. I would then ride up PCH through Willmington, Long Beach, Redondo Beach and Santa Monica to Malibu, and then over the hills on Latigo Canyon, Decker, or Malibu Canyon to Mulholland, and then down into the San Fernando Valley, then across the foothills in Glendale and Pasadena, and then up GMR and down Mt. Baldy Road before returning home in Claremont..... Maybe you just don't ride the distances I did. South Coast Plaza was simply a landmark that I used to gauge how close I was to PCH and used as a feeding station.

Also, this incident occured around the time of the LA riots and I am sure there were a lot of cops there. I may be wrong about the cop being from SAPD, but I believe that the officer who took my statement was. However, it was around twenty years ago, and I had just been shot at, so I could be wrong about the agency. Either way though, the shootings did take place along that trail, and I refused to ride the south end of it because of it.

I regularly rode through Inglewood, Hawthorne, South Central, Long Beach, and many other cities and neighborhoods that you wouldn't drive through, and the gangs never gave me any trouble. But one teenage crackhead who thought it was fun to take shots out of his bedroom window changed my route and I never enjoyed that trail again.

It sounds from the reports of homeless encampments and outright attacks on normal SART users that thing haven't gotten any better.

Edit: Fixed spelling...

Distances you rode don't mean anything - you don't know the area along the lower reach of the SART and all you're doing is scaring folks away from a great bicycling resource. The SART has areas where it goes through gang turf (like where the OP got attacked), but just avoid those areas in the low light and nighttime hours and your risks of being assaulted are minimal (Minimal, not zero). In over 20 years I've had no problem riding along it. Never had a probelm with the homeless either; they are there, but they sleep up under the overpasses at night then leave in the morning before the place gets crowded, and I've never been threatened by them. FWIW: South Coast Plaza isn't visible from the SART, so don't know how you'd use that as a 'landmark'.

End of my posting on this thread. . .

.

As I said before, you are still talking out your a$$.... and from reading the other posts on this thread, twenty years later the lower SART is still not quite the "great bicycling resource" that you claim, with all the homelessness, gang activity, and crime......

I am very sorry to hear that the OP was attacked and that his bike was taken, but I am glad to hear that he is ok. Thing could well have turned out much worse than just losing his bike. I hope that the OC PD agencies begin to do a better job of safeguarding the SART, but I doubt it because it is "below the grid".


My previous posts have all been deleted out of respect to the OP because after my first post, our discussion went far off-topic for this thread......

I'm really sorry to hear about this. I haven't been commuting back and forth through that area since early September, and I was starting to get nervous about it being dark and who knows who lurking and waiting. I have three little kids at home, and I can take the risk. I'll have to look at some other routes to get from South Coast Plaza to Anaheim Hills.then you would be letting the cretins win

again, get an old steel road bike, convert it to fixed gear or singlespeed (runs well/looks crappy) and continue your commute

if stabba anna really scares you at night, go ninja steez and before they know you were there, you are already gone

those little hoodlums are stupid and predictable, so just don't be stupid or predictable and you should be alright (not saying toobsz was being either)

i ran up and down that bike path all hours of the day and night for six years and was never jacked

I'm sure the homeless get victimized there all the time. Most have some kind of disability. This sounds more predatory. Why would they volunteer info? This happened in thier home. Glad you are OK.

Man, that sucks. I try to commute once or twice a week, don't have to take SART but if don't feel too tired I do to add miles. Few days ago I was just thinking how nice and peaceful would be to take a long ride in the dark.

Right know I have a temporary job (thanks to Obama) where we provide help to low income families in oc, this has led me to experience Santa Ana more than I ever wanted to do ;) Most cockroaches' activity stems from the mobile home parks around 1st and the River Trail. I'd start by posting reward signs w/ pics around there.

Crime there is a matter of opportunity which leads me believe they *have* to live in close proximity to the SART.
Good luck.

If the OP had carried a gun in a fanny pack, odds are he would have also lost the gun.

^^^ This. In states with liberal gun ownership laws (I believe gun in the fanny pack would be a concealed weapon?) the number of reported stolen handguns is pretty amazing. While most people intend on protecting themselves from thieves, they mostly just provide a good source for cheap weaponry.

^^^ This. In states with liberal gun ownership laws (I believe gun in the fanny pack would be a concealed weapon?) the number of reported stolen handguns is pretty amazing. While most people intend on protecting themselves from thieves, they mostly just provide a good source for cheap weaponry.

Can you provide source data for this statement? I'd love to read the study.

Can you provide source data for this statement? I'd love to read the study.

I'd have to dig to find some of the original legitimate sources, but this article will give you a teaser:

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-10-22/news/fl-florida-gun-crimes-20111019_1_crime-guns-stolen-guns-gun-buyers


Also, it's not in the best format: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/ascii/GUIC.TXT



* According to the 1991 Survey of State Prison Inmates, among those inmates who possessed a handgun, 9% had acquired it through theft and 28% had acquired it through an illegal market such as a drug dealer or fence. Of all inmates, 10% had stolen at least one gun, and 11% had sold or traded stolen guns. * Studies of adult and juvenile offenders that the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services conducted in 1992 and 1993 found that 15% of the adult offenders and 19% of the juvenile offenders had stolen guns; 16% of the adults and 24% of the juveniles had kept a stolen gun; and 20% of the adults and 30% of the juveniles had sold or traded a stolen gun. * From a sample of juvenile inmates in four States, Sheley and Wright found that more than 50% had stolen a gun at least once in their lives and 24% had stolen their most recently obtained handgun. They concluded that theft and burglary were the original, not always the proximate, source of many guns acquired by the juveniles.
removed original link and replaced with source

Frankly, in the OP's case even if he had a gun in his hand (never mind the practicality) he would have been unable to do anything useful with it. Being swarmed by six guys by surprise will overwhelm anybody. A gun is a tool with a narrow range of usefullness, not a security blanket. One bad side effect of gun ownership is overconfidence. Buddy of mine always carried his gun in a fanny pack to shoot mountain lions in case of attack at the local park (Casper's Wildlife park off Ortega highway) Guy weighed about 275. A mountain lion is a carnivore that hunts by stealth. 50,000 years of evolution have given the big cat physical capabilities far beyond a human's. Had he been able took wrap his flippers around his pistol, the chance of him hitting his child or wife with a stray shot are significant. Best to change one's behavior rather than blunder about blindly trusting in inanimate hardware.

I'm not anti-gun. Believe fully in the Second Amendment. Just trying to be coldly practical.

I'd have to dig to find some of the original legitimate sources, but this article will give you a teaser:

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-10-22/news/fl-florida-gun-crimes-20111019_1_crime-guns-stolen-guns-gun-buyers


Also, it's not in the best format: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/ascii/GUIC.TXT


removed original link and replaced with source

Interesting, thanks. I see that your quoted excerpt is from the second, government link. And I readily see that a percentage of criminals are using stolen guns. But other than the Florida newspaper article making the inference, I do not see a link in the government compiled statistics that supports your statement

"....In states with liberal gun ownership laws (I believe gun in the fanny pack would be a concealed weapon?) the number of reported stolen handguns is pretty amazing. While most people intend on protecting themselves from thieves, they mostly just provide a good source for cheap weaponry."

Don't get me wrong..... I completely agree that in this particular ambush, had he a hand gun in a fanny pack, it would have ended up in the wrong hands. I was just wondering how you came to the conclusion you did. Now, I know.

Actually, I don't think there's a direct link between the laws and the number of stolen guns. I think it's all inferred. Texas, Georgia and Florida all have minimal gun control laws - no permit required, open carry, etc. and are top exporters of guns used in crimes. One kind of interesting site I've found is this one: http://www.tracetheguns.org/#

You'll see for example that states with the most gun laws export the fewest guns to crime (e.g. New York) whereas the states with the fewest laws export the most. This is not STOLEN gun data though - most of this is probably attributed to gun show sales and sales of handguns without a permit.

I'm not anti-gun. The only reason I don't own one is because I don't have a place to store one securely, and because before I bought a nice gun, I'd buy a nice pair of Sidi's or something. And I'd never get out to the shooting range because I spend too much time on the bike.