Crooked Bike Shop in Los Angeles
 

I just read this story in the L.A. Times about stolen high-end bicycles and the thieves. A local bike shop in LA (not identified) was receiving stolen goods, chopping up the bikes and selling parts.

Does anyone know the applicable bicycle shop?

We need to know the crooked bicycle shop!

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...371,full.story

BUSTED! So. Cal. Theft Ring
 

Sorry, Didn't know this was posted already.

Thought I would share the article on "Tour De Theft" in case anyone had their high-end bike stolen. Makes me mad! But then again, when I had sold my bikes on CL, I never tell anyone where I live and will meet them in a parking lot, in the daylight, with people around.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,1579820.story

Hopefully most of the victims will be able to recover their property.

Ride Safe

I didn't see it before, thanks for posting. IMHO here's the problem:

How can they give that shop owner a pass? He's the reason those guys kept stealing bikes. Seriously? 3 fat guys keep showing up at your shop selling 5k+ bikes for a few hundred dollars? He's as culpable as the thieves.

Wonder if it's related to this:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...937-Bike-Thief

Glad they got caught....but they'll be back.

A couple people from my club got their stolen bike recovered.

As a result of this particular arrest? Or just in general.

The only thing worse than thieves is pointless destruction (grafitti, broken windows, slashed tires, keyed cars etc)

I agree the shopowner is also a thief. That is why he wasn't selling the bikes and was instead chopping them up for parts he then sold.

It does not take a genius to figure out that if a clown was selling you $(5000-8000) bikes for pennies on the dollar, then something is "rotten".

Of course, he knew he was buying stolen goods, and the cops should at least charge him with fencing/receiving stolen goods. And we need to know the shop's name, so that this guy is driven out of business.

Wow! Twice arrested for the same thing. Hopefully they'll get more than a 'slap on the wrist' this time. I'm glad I ride a Huffy. (Had to say that for when those jokers get out again and start up where they left off.)

Very sad but they'll post bail, get another slap on the wrist and resume their operation elsewhere. Probably combine forces with the SART thieves. Only hope the next judge and prosecutors are cyclists.

Yep, I have a Huffy too but with Zipp wheels!

Who's the store? We gotta know who's accepting the stolen goods to warn the cycling community.

The article doesn't say the shop owner is getting a pass. It says he is "under investigation but cooperating with detectives." Most likely translation: he is cooperating in exchange for reduced charges. Nothing new or particularly remarkable; it is how any number of police investigations work.

I do agree that the rat fink deserves to have his shop's name outed. His name, too.

Amen to that.

You dont bust up a custom setup that is ascetically pleasing and functioning well to get a higher dollar for the bike. Dude was running a chop shop. I hope they are nor easy on him

Kudos to the Sheriff and staying alert and proactive. Job well done Sargent. If not for him they would still be operating.

I am glad they brought the girl into the article. It added the depth of how many of us feel about our bike.

Yup from this one.

I actually think he's worse than the thieves themselves. They won't steal what they can't easily get rid of.

They'll post bail, but the slap on the wrist is a felony if the bike stolen is valued at over $1,000. I don't think I need to mention what happens when a person in California has too many felonies.

Not trying to nit-pick the details, but I do believe anything over $400 is Grand Theft - a felony. I think burglary is as well. Also, even if it's under $400, petty theft with priors is a felony. I used to do retail loss prevention, however, things may have changed.

As of this year, $950+ is Grand Theft and with minimal argument on the prosecution results in a felony charge (it's tough to get it knocked down to misdemeanor). We do well on our campus catching bike thieves and getting our felony convictions. :thumb:

http://sites.uci.edu/bikeuci/convict...-bike-thieves/

I was just watching channel 9 news and they identified the crooked bicycle shop.

The shop is called Bike Lane, and it is located on Venice Blvd.

So, there is your bike fence. On the news, they showed really high-end bikes, all stripped down.

While I don't sell or buy on craigslist, I have a friend who does. He has the prospected buyer meet him right in front of the police station in our neighboring town. He uses his cell phone to take pics of the vehicle and the buyer as they pull up. I'm not saying this is the perfect sales tactic but it works for him!

Some of you on this board might know that I have been selling my carbon cyclocross bike on here and CL for about a year. It is a custom built cross bike and I was asking about $4,000. I received tons of emails but all of them were obviously Nigerian scammers. Then one day I got an email from someone who claimed to be in Weschester and was interested in my bike. He asked for my number and called me that night.

When he called I was immediatley suspicious.

Some might think this is racist BUT....he spoke like a cholo gangster and didnt ask any serious or relevant questions about the bike that a serious cross racer would ask.

Long story short....LACSO called me last month and asked if someone had contacted me about buying my bike and if so if I had sold it or met the person or if it had been stolen.

I explained my story.

I am assuming these are the guys.

Good job to the LA County Sheriffs !!!

btw - i still have the bike in case anyone is interested :)

Bike shop should get busted for buying and selling stolen goods. For the shop not being suspicious about all the bikes and parts by the same people is hard to explain away.

That Bike Lane bike shop is guilty. They thought they could get away with it. Why else would they sell off component like a chop shop? Did these guys appear as cyclists? After bringing in multiple bikes, did this not raise suspicion. Makes you wonder how much more involved they could have been. Disgusted...

Actually that is incredibly brilliant!

Just a warning to everyone... never, I repeat never give personal information out to someone from CL. Always arrange to meet in a public place for transactions and always ask for CASH. Do not accept money orders or cashier's checks. Accepts checks only from a known reliable source. If through the mail, use a P O Box or business address. CL is a thief's best friend!

This is intriguing. In fact, with this tactic, I may actually consider buying off of Craigslist.