A tale of two bike thieves

[plattyjo]

Well, it’s certainly been an odd week in the dark netherworld of bike theftdom, and I have two stories (http://www.plattyjo.com/a-tale-of-two-bike-thieves/) to report with semi-happy endings. In the first one, the bike thieves were caught — but the bike is still MIA. In the second story, the bike was recovered but the thief is still at large.

Please share this story with your local bike shops -- especially your bike and motorcycle friends in Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles. I have a feeling that bike thief #2 will be on the move soon, but if you see him in the Bay Area -- call the police ASAP.

[bluesea]

Good work.

[plattyjo]

Thanks - hopefully both the missing bike and the thief-at-large will both be found!

[NickR]

Wow, will share in Los Angeles.

[zetroc]

believe me guys, bike thief #2 is a really weird guy that you don't want to know.

[alessandro]

Jenny, your going after this guy was totally badass. Especially knowing what a creep he is. :beer:

Hopefully, just maybe, efforts like yours and the SFPD's are the tip of the iceberg in changing the culture of bike theft, which seems to be easy, plenty of opportunity, decent reward, and low risk.

[Keith A]

Good work.Indeed!

[plattyjo]

Thanks, all - and here's the official flyer (https://twitter.com/SFPDBikeTheft/status/388040783309193217/photo/1) from SFPD; share away!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BWKZCVgCQAAr3Vx.jpg:large

[OtayBW]

...semi-happy endings.
:eek:

[plattyjo]

UPDATE: He was last spotted in Sausalito. ALERT your friends in Marin!

[wc1934]

Wow - amazing stories and great detective work! Thank you!!

[rwsaunders]

Says Sean..."does Facebook make me look fat?" Nice work plattyjo.

[pzung]

guys,

check this out. the whole bike for $2K.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-Moots-Vamoots-RSL-56cm-Shimano-DI2-Ultegra-Titanium-Ti-Road-Bike-MSRP-8200-/121191583378

any deal seems to be too good to be true should be suspicious.

[toytech]

and no bike or parts sales or purchase in history. probably got hijacked

[plattyjo]

guys,

any deal seems to be too good to be true should be suspicious.

Truth.

[plattyjo]

BTW - I'm sharing that eBay listing and trying to alert Moots. Thanks for posting it!

[plattyjo]

and no bike or parts sales or purchase in history. probably got hijacked

That seems to be the consensus in the other places I posted; I had never heard of this happening. The more you know!

[speed]

BTW - I'm sharing that eBay listing and trying to alert Moots. Thanks for posting it!

good job, keep fighting the good fight!

[speed]

Truth.

Double truth.

[pbarry]

I emailed the seller, (and did not follow the instructions in the listing).

Here's her response:

HACKED ACCOUNT DO NOT BID!!!!

-susiewoosie46


guys,

check this out. the whole bike for $2K.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-Moots-Vamoots-RSL-56cm-Shimano-DI2-Ultegra-Titanium-Ti-Road-Bike-MSRP-8200-/121191583378

any deal seems to be too good to be true should be suspicious.

[Fixed]

Ther seems to be a lot more thieves in San Francisco than Florida ,
The riding is really great here but you can't leave your bike unattended the only down side here that I have seen :)
Cheers

[plattyjo]

I emailed the seller, (and did not follow the instructions in the listing).

Here's her response:

HACKED ACCOUNT DO NOT BID!!!!

-susiewoosie46

Yes, a friend of mine tried emailing the seller also and got this (excerpt):

"Hello XXXXXXX,
Our records show that you recently contacted or received messages from susiewoosie46 through eBay's messaging system. An unauthorized third party may have compromised this member's account security by accessing the account.

We've taken action to restore this account to its original owner. Take extra caution with any communication you may have received from the compromised account. We are unaware of any problems with your own account. We sent this message only as a precaution. If you have received any messages from susiewoosie46 that seem suspicious, please feel free to forward them to us at spoof@ebay.com for review."

[plattyjo]

Ther seems to be a lot more thieves in San Francisco than Florida ,
The riding is really great here but you can't leave your bike unattended the only down side here that I have seen :)
Cheers

Yeah, probably so. It's not as bad as NYC, however, where I lived for 13 years. I had 13 bikes stolen there, 12 of them beaters locked with good locks!

[plattyjo]

And update on Sean Osborne: based on a friend's internet research and a hunch, he may be moving to the Sacramento / Davis area. So alert your bike shop (and motorcycles) friends and colleagues there!

[onekgguy]

So impressive!

Kevin g

[pzung]

I emailed the seller, (and did not follow the instructions in the listing).

Here's her response:

HACKED ACCOUNT DO NOT BID!!!!

-susiewoosie46

Good to know. You guys are good!