2:14 PM: Police say they arrested three people at Westwood Village last night in connection with a bicycle stolen downtown and listed for sale online. Here’s what Jonah Spangenthal-Lee posted on SPD Blotter this afternoon:
Officers arrested a trio of suspects at a West Seattle shopping center Monday after they tried to sell police a pricey bike stolen days earlier from REI’s flagship store.
On May 21st, a masked suspect made their way into a fenced, gated area at REI’s flagship store in the 200 block of Yale Avenue and made off with a $2,700 black and neon green Ghost Kato bike.
A few days later, REI staff found an ad for a Ghost Kato bike on Craigslist. The ad listed the bike at $1,500, describing it as “brand new” and “ready to be picked up.” “Serious inquiries only!!!,” the seller wrote.
REI staff sent the ad to police, and Southwest Precinct Anti-Crime Team Officer Ernie Debella got in touch with the seller and set up a Monday night meeting.
Around 6 PM, police were waiting at the Westwood Village shopping center when the suspects – a 29-year-old woman and two men, 28 and 40 years old – arrived in a cab. The trio pulled the bike out of the cab’s trunk and began scouring the lot, as if they were looking for police.
Officers contacted the group, confirmed the bike was the same one stolen days earlier, and booked the men and woman into the King County Jail for trafficking stolen property.
We’re checking to see if we can find out more about the suspects’ status.
ADDED 4 PM: According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the three were released from today’s bail-hearing calendar – the 28-year-old man is getting out of jail, but the other two suspects are still being held on unrelated warrants, the 40-year-old man for failure to appear in a theft case – a $10,000 warrant – and the 29-year-old woman, for a $2,500 warrant related to failing to appear in a “false reporting” case.
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