walked by an interesting situation today when i was coming out of a restaurant for lunch today.

I had just finished eating lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant and zipped up my jacket while walking out cause it's was about -15 today. i walk towards my car and i see a homeless man with the high possibility of being a crackhead talking to this averagely dressed middle aged man. between the two people talking i see a low end mid-range mountain bike. As i walk closer i hear the "crackhead" say "c'mon man you gotta give me at least 10 bucks". I slow down my walking pace to take notice a bit on what is going on. The middle aged man pulls out his wallet, gets a 10 dollar bill and hands it to the homeless guy. He thanks him and walks off. Then the middle aged guy looks over the bike once again and strolls off the other way with the bicycle.

My thoughts in my head were: this guy probably stole this bike and sold it to a random walking by on the street.

A part of me wanted to inflict pain on the homeless dude cause no one really sells a bike for 10 bucks, i understand that you might find stuff on garage sales and craiglist here and there, but the circumstances of the situation just all pointed to that bike being stolen. But i couldn't prove that it was stolen, but that's what the instincts were telling me. also i guess the guy probably already had it bad enough because he was homeless and looked like he'd been doing crystal meth since preschool.

I understand that some people on this forum have had their bikes stolen and i know it can feel like you're being violated. Bike theft just seems more personal than other items that you own. If someone stole a t-shirt from me, or maybe a basketball i probably wouldn't be as mad if someone stole my bike.

anyways, what would you guys do in the situation. unfortunately i had to get to my car because i was freezing and parking was about to expire.

and what would you do if the guy was selling a colnago or something crazy exotic for the price of a Baconator combo at wendys (yes fast food is expensive up here in canadia, unlike the states.

In most US states, possession of stolen property is a crime. If interstate trafficking comes into play it could be a federal crime. The point is, if average folks wouldn't purchase stolen property, less property would be stolen - there'd be no market for it. So I probably would have let the homeless guy slide, but I would have railed on the buyer and convinced him to do the right thing and "report the bike found" and give the serial number over to the police.

If I was the middle aged man approached by the crackhead, I'd give him $10 and tell him to return the bike and get something to eat, knowing full well that wasn't going to happen.
If I were an observer seeing this go down, I would try to forget it.

I would try to outbid the other guy if it were a really high end bike, then report it (say you found it) to the police department assuming that someone would have reported it stolen and they would probably happily pay you back for the bum's crack money (I wouldn't pay more than like $150 no matter what the bike just because I wouldn't want to potentially lose the money). On the other hand if nobody reported it stolen it's yours to part out on ebay or keep

I would confront both of them and tell them that I was calling the cops right then right there, and if they didn't want to get arrested for dealing in stolen goods, they'd leave the bike with me and get the hell out of there.

Or at least that's what I did the last two times I saw this happen. AFAIK both times the bikes were reunited with the owners.

That is a very good outcome Cap'n, but IMO ill-advised, because threatening to call in the heat could get you shot.

That's why I have a carry permit. And why I practice for about an hour a week getting the gun out in a hurry. I'm not a vigilante, I'm just not gonna get shot on the street by some idiot who doesn't have my skyllz.

I like your way of thinking mazdaspeed. However, the OP provided no evidence that the bike was stolen! Most homeless people aren't crackheads, not that being homeless or a crackhead should give people the right to accuse a person of theft with no evidence. I agree that the whole scenario is questionable, but I wouldn't get involved without better reason for casting blame.

There are a lot of underprivelaged people around where I live that ride bikes. I am sure if one of them was in a jam for money they would sell their bike for a relatively cheap price. I'm also sure that some of those bike were stolen from someone at some point during the bikes life. That doesn't men that any time a less well off person sells a bike for a pittance the bike is stolen.

Even if the bike was stolen how likely do you think it is that it will get back to the original owner? I imagine most bike theft isn't even reported to the police. If the bike is confiscated and then no previous owner is found, then what? It all seems like a bad idea unless there is more evidence that the bike is stolen.

There's just no good answer and I go through similar emotions frequently. Every time I see a $1,000 dollar bike being ridden by someone who it clearly doesn't fit...and using regular shoes on clipless pedals, I want to impersonate batman, but that's a fantasy, not reality. Calling the police is nearly sure to be useless; in Philadelphia if you aren't dead, or if it didn't happen to a cop, it doesn't matter. There's a pawn shop I walk by regularly that bought a clearly stolen bike and, when caught with the stolen bike were entitled to their payment back from the victim. Apparently they have immunity from certain laws that everyone else here lives under. Every day I walk by I want to break a window (and if I were 24 I probably would). All you can really do is remember that there are a lot of schmucks and slime balls and try your hardest to avoid being around them. If there is a good answer for the homeless and addiction, I don't know what it is.

Take it to the nearest bike shop, that's what I'd do - and the first place I reported all three bikes I had stolen. Got one out of them back this way, so...

DD

I applaud you for exercising your 2nd Ammendment right to keep and bear arms. However, as much as bike theft or any other property crime is awful, I would not use deadly force to prevent it or bring the OP's presumtive bike thief to justice. A concealed firearm is a great ace-in-the-hole that can be brought out when your life is in danger from a criminal scumbag. If you do carry a firearm you should try to avoid unecessary conflict.

Sometimes , 10 bucks is the going rate foe a midlevel Mtn Bike in my area garage sales . I once picked up a GT Tequesta for 14 at my Goodwill . May have been even cheaper at the Home Sweet Home Mission Mart . Seller may have been given the bike to help him along in life . You just don't know how some of these things get started .

+many, many, many

Unless I know for sure what is going on, I mind my own business! If, the seller offered me the bike, and I felt to to be worth my while, I would buy it, take it to the Cop Shop, and, hopefully, gain ownership three months later. Everything is legal and I did not stick my nose in where it does not necessarily belong.

Now, put yourself on the other side of the coin. You are the well dressed guy, or gal, talking to the homeless person. If someone came up to me, while I was talking to the homeless fellow, you could call the cops all you wanted. And then you could FO, as far as I am concerned, and I would help you find your way, if you pushed me hard enough.

I have to agree here too. ^ Too many assumptions going on in the original post.

LOL, almost daily occurence here in the Netherlands. The phrase "fietsie kopen?" (pssst... wanna buy a bike?) is part of popular culture. Some crackheads even run bike dens where you can pick up an oma bike or a 3-speed for 25e - you just need the right number to call. The police hands out leaflets to the freshman of my uni every year warning that buying a bike from a crackhead is a crime which will get you a crime record - bad new if you want to be in law, education or medicine because you won't be allowed to practice with one!

If you read his response, he mentioned nothing about enforcing vigilante justice, just defending himself.

He could have been buying back his own bike. He could have been knowingly buying someone else's stolen bike. He could have been in willing denial since his teenager needed a bike and this was a $10 deal. It happens. You just never know. He contributed to crime if it was stolen, and he knows it. He contributed to the homeless man's habits/vices if they exist, and he knows it. There was, likely, nothing I could say to him that he hasn't thought about, and he obviously decided it was worth givng a stranger $10 for.

The situation was too far removed from the facts (unlike the one for sale we discussed) for appropriate violence, and way too public.

He also said he would confront the two people in question, call the cops and demand they leave the bike with him. All without truly knowing what the situation was. The assumption that the bike was stolen may be right, but it may not be. Without knowing for sure, aggressive tactics like this are uncalled for, IMO. But, I suppose if you're carrying a gun you might feel comfortable using these tactics.

edit: since you amended your post Robbie, I'll amend mine too and agree with that last sentence.

Under the circumstances, I wouldn't know for a fact that that bike was stolen, so I wouldn't have done anything. If I saw the homeless dude sawing away on a locked bike, I might call the cops but nothing more. If I saw someone sawing away on my locked bike, I would walk up to him and say, "Thanks very much, but I have the key." If he turned and walked away, I would leave it at that. If he tried to get rough I would respond in kind. Keep in mind that the cops and courts take a VERY dim view of vigilante justice.

Very common down here in ATX. Bikes get stolen everywhere down town, sometimes off busses while your riding. It never hurts to call the cops or talk to the guy that bought the bike. If you care.

I cant see why this should end up ugly and what firearms has to do with the OP post. Is it the state of mind in US? Its an ethical dilemma, even though nobody knows how destitude the seller was. But ten bucks means survival for some, and if survival is the key thing for humans, he did OK (or not, kinda cheap actually...). The buyer is the real problem, taking advantage of the situation.

I side with mazdaspeed, buy the bike and hand it over to the police. Might just end up at the right owner. And maybe thats what the buyer intended to do. After strippin´ it...

Hmmm. I think what you call "aggressive tactics," I call "Responsible citizenship." It may be worth knowing that the first time I did this, all i had on me was a charming smile and a cell phone. I just don't scare easy, I guess.

It's probably also worth knowing that I have never pointed a loaded firearm at another human being, and I sincerely hope to never. If I ever have to do that, that means there are choices I should have made that would not have brought me to that point. It's also worth knowing that street crackheads aren't, generally, armed. They sell the guns off for their drug of choice. And it's not like I've done this from 6 feet away; both times I've done it I've called out the warning from like 20 yards away and with not just concealment but cover right next to me.

I ride bike in city traffic more or less daily. I'm pretty good at balancing risk management. It's not much of a life that I have, but I got it when I was born and I've had it all the way up to now and I'd like to hang on to it for a while yet.

This is a very good point.

If it were a nice bike I would have followed the guy that just bought the bike and offered to double his money.

We give bikes to the homeless for them to go out and find work. What they do with them is ther business.