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An item on Craigslist led to the arrest of a suspected bicycle thief, Menlo Park police said. An undercover officer arrested a San Jose man in connection with two Menlo Park thefts.

A theft victim discovered her stolen bike listed for sale on the online site Craigslist, and contacted Menlo Park police. They arranged a sting, and on July 30, arrested James Barry Durr. Police recovered a bicycle as well as stolen property from another theft in Menlo Park, said police spokeswoman Nicole Acker in a press release.

In recent weeks, there’s been an upsurge in bike thefts from carports, and in front of homes and apartments, police said. Many of the bicycles are high-end, worth more than $500, according to Ms. Acker.

Simply locking up a bicycle is not necessarily enough to prevent its theft, police warned. Besides storing bicycles out of view, police are encouraging people to mark their bikes with an identification number. An ID number makes a bike less attractive to thieves, and it makes for better evidence in court, Ms. Acker said.

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8 Comments

  1. I have a question. A couple of times, I have seen someone riding a bicycle while steering another bicycle. Although I can think of a couple of farfetched reasons why someone might do this (a parent biking with a child to school and leaving with the child’s bike because the child will be taking the bus home?) I always wonder if the person has stolen the bicycle that he (it’s invariably a man) is not riding.

    I should also note that the rider is typically skilled at steering the second bike, a maneuver that would be hard for many of us.

    I really don’t want to look at these people and think “bike thief” so I am wondering if someone has another explanation, bearing in mind that these are typically young men riding in the middle of the day, not acting suspicious in any other way.

  2. I can’t think of a good reason an adult would do that, except rarely, as in when a biking partner’s bike breaks down. Why not call your local PD & ask the question? You may be missing a reason that they’re aware of, & should be able to tell you if you can call that type of thing in when you see it.

  3. this is great, Menlo Park Police spend way too much money stinging irrelevant violators. they set up a whole sting operation to get someone who stole two bikes? or maybe i read that wrong, one bike and one other item of stolen property? focus on the drug deals that happen right outside the police station you morons, meth, everyday.

  4. well, when i was too young to drive, i would bike to a friends house with their bike i had. a friends bike, i dont know, but some advice, dont always assume someone is a criminal or acting in a criminal way because ive seen many sketchy things go on that end up to be justified.

  5. The bike and the use of the bike is well respected in Copenhagen and most of Europe. Since it is the most common means of transportation and they have bike lanes on every street with signal lights for bikes, riding one is like driving a car in America. what I am most impressed with is how the citizens of Denmark respect the property of others! In a plaza where thousands of bikes are parked, I have left mine parked, unlocked and never found it missing. Now I know why Europeans are in such fine physical shape. Every time they need to go somewhere they get exercise, do not burn fossil fuel and breathe a cleaner air. The politicians in America ought to come over here and see what is being done right!

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