Dress it up any way you want, this still comes out as a pathetic attempt to bust poor people-- dishonest poor people, if you like-- on a felony rap. I agree that it doesn't have to be an either/or situation, that we want to catch the opportunist as well as the bike theft ring. BUT... it's clear that busting a couple of dishonest poor people on a felony rap was higher on their list of priorities than busting a bike theft ring. And that's precisely backwards. If you're concerned about high-buck bike theft, then do a proper sting-- a high buck bike locked up in a neighborhood where high buck bikes are stolen. Or do a bike theft sting at the University. This had nothing to do with bike theft-- it could have been anything, a sandwich for instance, and these opportunists would have grabbed it. So they're dishonest-- bust them. But on a felony rap? What problem does that solve? Now we have two guys in jail, and not a single bike thief-- a guy who makes his living stealing/fencing bikes-- in jail.

And no amount of window dressing changes that fact.