WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Bike theft on video

| Crime | West Seattle news

That video is from Doug, showing the theft of his bicycle in North Delridge this morning:

I put the bike on the roof in my driveway at 25th and Brandon [map], then went inside for about 15 minutes. Not smart, obviously! When I came out to load my son into his car seat, I realized it was gone. The thief was visible on the edge of the security video frame for about a minute and a half shortly after I went inside the house, then approached the car with a pen light in his mouth. It took him about 3 minutes to get the bike off of the roof.

I carpool with my wife in the morning, but this is my main mode of transportation home in the evenings. It’s worth a lot financially and sentimentally as I put it together over many months this spring, picking out each part one at a time.

It’s an orange Soma Wolverine, size large steel frame. Drop handlebars, disc brakes, brown leather saddle (Fizik brand, but no logo – I glued the leather cover on myself), dynamo front hub with dynamo lights front and rear, 8 speed internally geared rear hub, extra wide tires and full black fenders, plus a rear rack. It’s a very distinctive bike. I’d appreciate it if everyone could keep an eye out.

Police incident number is 16-428111. And I should note that two officers arrived within 10 minutes and took this very seriously. A huge thanks to SPD!

Marley November 28, 2016 (9:42 am)

Make sure you log this on BikeIndex. That’ll get visibility too.

Doug November 28, 2016 (1:45 pm)

Thanks Marley. I listed it earlier this morning. Good advice! I had the serial number on file and included it in the listing. Let’s hope it helps.

simon1021 November 28, 2016 (9:44 am)

Brazen arse-h@le. I hope he is recognized and caught ASAP. Sorry :(

WestCake November 28, 2016 (9:52 am)

What you do is leave a bait bike somewhere. I’ve seen them attached to a tree with a small wire a “prowler” wouldn’t notice. If they try and ride away, they fly off the front of the bike when it “stops.” The police in other cities use bait bikes that are worth in excess of 2000, or 5000. The reason being is that makes stealing one a felony, so these “prowlers” actually can be locked up on a rather serious charge. I doubt the state prison, King county local prison system has money to house these criminals but there is a way out of this mess. A light at the end of the tunnel so to say.

Craig November 28, 2016 (10:06 am)

That’s terrible. That guy is a jerk, but must be at a terrible place in his life that he’s wandering around in the early morning looking to steal things. I always feel really bad for the people that are this low in their life that they take others’ property. I also feel bad for you – nice bike. I’ll keep an eye out for it.

Double Dub Resident November 28, 2016 (12:08 pm)

Unfortunately that is not always true. There are people out there that steal because they’re selfish , they’re lazy and they’re self entitled POS.
- John November 28, 2016 (12:59 pm)
  
  I agree…..we should feel sorry for them and give them cheap housing so they can turn their lives around…..

Annaeileen November 28, 2016 (10:07 am)

My friend had his bike stolen in North Delridge a few months ago and the thief listed it on offer up and they got it back! So totally worth it to check out every listing for a bike like yours. Good luck! that totally sucks it happened so fast.

Double Dub Resident November 28, 2016 (10:21 am)

This POS probably did this out of opportunity, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he lives somewhere in the area. I can’t stand these entitled POS

John November 28, 2016 (1:01 pm)

Again….I totally agree. Find him and lock him up!

unknown November 28, 2016 (10:24 am)

I hate to say this but if he is recognized it’ll be by his fellow POS’s so more than likely he won’t get turned in…unless maybe there’s an award attached to it, moneys overrides friendship to people like these ones!

But this is really getting out of control,something has got to be done to stop them!

anonyme November 28, 2016 (10:26 am)

It’s time the streets were scrubbed of such scum. Cop’s can’t do it, and courts don’t or won’t. Bait traps?

Rick November 28, 2016 (10:32 am)

So the bad guy is wearing white. At night. This can’t be right. (Sorry)

Patrick November 28, 2016 (1:32 pm)

Had a car prowler come by a few days ago wearing all reflective gear. Tried to open the door of many cars, seeing if any were left unlocked. The criminals in the area aren’t great on their fashion choices. A few days before this, a guy came by wearing hot pink pants and tried stealing a package off my neighbors porch.

nw November 28, 2016 (11:18 am)

Sorry about the soma wolverine being stolen those are distinctive and I will keep an eye out I need to go further and lock my own bike up while it’s in my home I do while out in public always lock it up I even go so far as to lock my bicycle to itself while I take transit the bus to prevent theft.

Alan November 28, 2016 (1:13 pm)

NW – It is a good idea to lock your bike on transit. I was on the bus going home following the Nisqually quake, stuck in traffic, when someone grabbed a bike off the front of the bus and rode off. There was nothing the bus driver or bike owner could do but watch him ride away.
- B. Billy November 30, 2016 (10:18 am)
  
  Was that at the International District Station by any chance? It happened to me there around that year. Can’t remember if it was the actual day of the quake. Good news is that in my case I got the bike back!
  - Alan November 30, 2016 (11:01 am)
    
    That was a long time ago, but I picture it as being further north on 3rd Ave. It would have been the 125 (or equivalent – I forget when the route became the 125) headed south on reroute off the viaduct. The bike owner was sitting up near the front on the passenger side, side-facing seat. We were stuck in gridlock traffic and everyone was already in shock from the quake. It took a few seconds for it to register that someone was stealing the bike and by that time he had it off the bus and I can picture him riding down between the cars.
    
    I am glad you got your bike back.

Seaview November 28, 2016 (12:40 pm)

Sorry about your bike, but what camera system are you using? The footage is super clear, I’d love something like that for my house.

Patrick November 28, 2016 (1:27 pm)

I’m not sure what camera system he’s using, but the Nest outdoor cameras (1080p) I recently upgraded to are amazing quality. I had battery operated Netgear Arlo (720p) cameras before that. The Nest cameras give you instant notifications, so you could catch someone in the act.
Doug November 28, 2016 (1:49 pm)

It’s an Amcrest 720p system. The four camera version I got is on Amazon for $270. I actually just installed it this weekend and finished up yesterday around 5pm. So the camera had only been recording for 13 hours when this happened! It does motion alerts, but I hadn’t set them up yet. That’ll be changing, obviously.

Thatsucks November 28, 2016 (12:47 pm)

I hate that guy

Marcus November 28, 2016 (12:56 pm)

Post it on FB, PNW Lost/Stolen Bikes.

Doug November 28, 2016 (1:52 pm)

Thanks for the suggestion. Someone else suggested the same and I requested permission to post there a couple hours ago. But someone else actually linked to this blog while I was awaiting approval. It’s nice to know that there’s a whole community of people out there paying attention.
- Ray November 28, 2016 (2:28 pm)
  
  I was the one that shared the link this morning and it’s already been shared a dozen times by friends and bike shops. I’m in the sports industry and most of my friends ride bikes so they all understand the importance of spreading the word. Hoping for a speedy bike recovery.
  - Doug November 28, 2016 (2:45 pm)
    
    Thanks Ray! If there’s any positive to come of this, it’s realizing how strong our local community is.

Patrick November 28, 2016 (1:08 pm)

I live three blocks north on the same alleyway, I checked my security cameras and didn’t see him come or go from our direction. I’ll keep an eye out though, you got pretty good video of him.

Mark November 28, 2016 (7:06 pm)

As a fellow biker I feel your pain. My bike got ripped off this past summer. It’s very annoying that these thieves steal with impunity. It’s time for a zero tolerance policy, you steal a bike you do time with hard labor at say $5 hour until you pay restitution based on value of bike stolen.

I still remember telling the cop that the thief who stole my bike was lucky I did not catch him in the act. The officer new exactly what I was talking about and smiled knowing the thief indeed got lucky.

Bike owners need to take aggressive action against these low life thieves, the court system is not! Thus bike owners need to take a stand to protect their property using physical force if necessary. It’s time to put a stop to this impedemic of theft. Courts need to take action or bike owners need to force the issue by fighting back agressively.

Don Brubeck November 28, 2016 (8:22 pm)

Sorry, Doug! That is a really nice bike, The thief will not appreciate the half of what you put into it. We’ll be on the lookout.

joel November 28, 2016 (8:49 pm)

for those of you calling him a criminal – remember this is northern California we live in and he’s known as a ‘student’ in this state….no criminals or prisoners…those words are too harsh in the PNW

Double Dub Resident November 29, 2016 (6:36 am)

Joel, what are you talking about?

Doug November 29, 2016 (7:23 am)

Thanks for all of the kind comments. I got word of two potential sightings yesterday in West Seattle, with the second being in the Junction in the late evening. Please keep an eye out for the bright orange bike. Call the police if you see it and reference incident number 16-428111.

Mr Smith Jay November 29, 2016 (8:25 am)

They changed the name of our criminals in jail to Students. Google it Double. Really silly.

WestSeattlite November 29, 2016 (6:13 pm)

Spotted at Westwood McDonalds about 15 minutes ago. I tried to take a picture of the dude. Still a stocking cap, and a little more bearded. The pictures didn’t turn out clear, but you need to spot it with either proof or your police report handy.

Doug November 29, 2016 (6:48 pm)

Did you call 911?
Doug November 29, 2016 (6:55 pm)

I really, really appreciate this, but if anyone else sees this, please call 911 immediately. I just called, but its 45 minute old info by that point.

Doug November 29, 2016 (9:52 pm)

I got the bike back. Thanks to everyone for keeping an eye out, and especially to Westseattlite for the photo. That made the difference.

Also, make sure to check with your homeowners insurance companies to be sure that theft of possessions is covered with a reasonable deductible. My deductible was prohibitively high, so had the bike not turned up, I would have just been out of luck. I’ll obviously be changing that, but hopefully no one else has to learn the hard way.

Thanks again, all. This was a great show of power of community!

Doug November 29, 2016 (9:55 pm)

I should also note that the thief got away. The police seemed very motivated to find him, so please call 911 immediately if you see him.
- WSB November 29, 2016 (10:18 pm)
  
  Wow. Was your bike still at Westwood Village or somewhere else? This past hour while dealing with something else urgent, we’ve just missed a couple police calls, not in Westwood but with big responses, and I’m wondering if either involved the bike recovery … TR
  - Doug November 29, 2016 (10:50 pm)
    
    The bike and the guy in the photo were still at the McDonalds at 7:30. The police response was quite slow, which could be explained by the other calls you mentioned and the fact that this didn’t constitute an emergency. But when they finally arrived, there were a lot of them. Thanks to SPD for your help on this! I’m very grateful to have my bike back.
    - BKRDT November 30, 2016 (10:01 am)
      
      I know this guy. Not sure who to give his info to.

Don_Brubeck November 29, 2016 (10:36 pm)

Congrats, Doug, and thank you, West Seattle Blog and Westseattleite!

Don Brubeck November 30, 2016 (12:12 pm)

BKRDT – how about the Seattle Police? Doug lists reference incident number 16-428111.

police non-emergency line at: (206) 625-5011.

Doug November 30, 2016 (1:08 pm)

BKRDT – yes, non-emergency would be ideal. I could also forward the info on to the officer I’ve been in contact with if you email me (d.ollerenshaw@gmail.com). I can also pass you the officer’s email address if you contact me offline (not sure if he wants me publishing his direct email here).

But again, directly contacting non-emergency is probably best. Thanks for the help getting this guy off the street before he does this, or worse, to someone else!
- BKRDT December 1, 2016 (9:53 am)
  
  No luck getting through on the non-emergency line, so I e-mailed you the basics that I know. Hope it is helpful.

Sorry, comment time is over.