I hate to post a bike theft story everyday, but this one has some good practical information that you might use should you find your bicycle has been thieved.
Lifted these off the internet. If the OP wants credit or these taken down, let me know.
I’ve spotted two of my friends’ bikes stolen from the area around Copycat, and both made it over to the McCulloh homes. They were spotted on separate days, while I was making trips to the Mondawmin MVA.
In the first instance I called my friend, who came up to meet me, and I flagged down a police officer. When she arrived, she got in the police car and they confronted the guy, who tried to pedal away. The officer doored him and retrieved my friend’s bike. It was missing her handmade basket, but was otherwise OK. I’m glad I didn’t try to confront him myself, because when the police searched him, he had a large knife.
In the second instance the guy rode into the courtyards while I was still in my car, and by the time I parked I had lost him, so we didn’t recover the bike.
Also, when we lived in Copycat B102, there were kids–age 12ish (i think that lived on Pittman Pl) that would come over frequently and try to steal the bikes outside. They were mostly clueless, kinda nice kids, and would always wander off when we opened our door and yelled at them, but it might be worth wandering around that street to look too–in case they finally succeeded in stealing a bike.
So that’s how you handle bike theft without loosing your cool – or your life. Play it safe out there, kids.
Here’s Hal.