2 Trek Bikes got stolen at Downtown Plaza, Sacramento. Advice?

[lilcritterkitty]

Well it's been almost a week since the bikes are gone. We already reported them and got the serial numbers, along with the reciepts.

Wondering what else we can do, Also if we got new bikes what can we do to prevent this from happening again?

Is it safe to post the serial number?

As you can probably tell we are beginner bikers.

The area is between downtown plaza and old sacramento. The bike rack near macy and garage parking close to K street. Was stolen around 12pm on Sunday, June 19th. Reported to both the mall and sacramento police.

Below is a photo of the two bikes in our home.

*Trek bike 4300, Blue and Silver 18" has a "Cateye Mity 8(Cyclocomputer)" attached to it.
*Trek bike 820, Yellow and Black 16"



Please if you know of any information about these bikes please tell me or the sacramento police.
Cateye Mity 8
18" frame.
16" frame.

[Connundrum1]

that sucks, i'll keep an eye out but i'm in rancho cordova area so probably won't get around here.

[Tattooo]

Were they locked to something?

Midtown is a bitch like that. I lived at Capitol Towers Gardens last year (about three blocks from where you were) and had someone come into my home while I was gone and take three bikes (including the Specialized Epic I just finished paying for that was for my wife) some of my guns, my computer, the keys to my house and motorcycle, and my beer.

Just be happy you weren't there when they got taken. One of the theives came back and took a chance to try to get my motorcycle, he regretted it.

Midtown is just a hole, under patroled, and the cops could give a **** less about if you ever see your stuff again.

[lilcritterkitty]

It was locked up. Wish we were smarter.

God we wish we did walk by when they were stealing the bike. They would be shown no mercy and possibly not even be able to walk again!

GAH! I hate people like that! Why can't the cops even try! Ahhh I'm getting mad now.

[Tattooo]

Kinda like the line in Pulp Fiction "It woulda been worth him doing it just so I could have caught him..."

The Sac PD and Sac Sheriffs office are some of the laziest, donut munching, half retarded dingle berries I've ever come across. For them its about containment as opposed to prevention.

Did you have insurance? I did't, it sucked.

[sanjuro]

Well it's been almost a week since the bikes are gone. We already reported them and got the serial numbers, along with the reciepts.

Wondering what else we can do, Also if we got new bikes what can we do to prevent this from happening again?

Is it safe to post the serial number?

As you can probably tell we are beginner bikers.

The area is between downtown plaza and old sacramento. The bike rack near macy and garage parking close to K street. Was stolen around 12pm on Sunday, June 19th. Reported to both the mall and sacramento police.

Sorry about the stolen bikes. I have to say I hear stories about bike theft from a Berkeley shop who fences bikes (Karim's, but they have been receiving a lot of press about it, so I doubt they have your bike), to DH bikes stolen out the back of team vans.

First and foremost: lock it up and keep an eye on it. I use a Kryptonite NY U-Lock, and at 5+ lbs, it is not fun to carry. I also use a Krypto-cable to lock up the front wheel, despite that my commuter bike uses locknuts. My rule about locking your bike: if you think about it, do it. Better to take a minute than live a lifetime of regret.

Also keeping an eye on your bike, even locked up, is a good idea. My commuter bike sports plenty of bling: Chris King, Thomson, Avid, Titec. The average crackhead will walk right by my black, taped-up bike, but a smart thief might be tempted to remove the seat or something else. I get nervous in movies, but in bars I check it 15-30 minutes.

Finally, I think your bikes are gone, spray painted or split up for parts. Police will not recover your bikes unless it is part of a larger arrest. But if you want, why not post the last 4 digits of your serial numbers.

[lilcritterkitty]

gee make us feel better why don't ya. Anyways the last 4 # are below.

Trek 4300 - P585
Trek 280 - 0395

[MattP.]

The Sac PD and Sac Sheriffs office are some of the laziest, donut munching, half retarded dingle berries I've ever come across. For them its about containment as opposed to prevention.

Come on man thats a bunch of crap. Sac PD at the moment is so under staffed it's not funny. They have all their deputys pulling 50-60 hour weeks. They just got I think permission to hire like 40 more officers I think it was.

As for you bikes, lilcritterkitty, I asked my dad who works for the District Attorney's office as well as the Sheriff's Dept. in Sac if he thought you would get your bikes back and he said very slim chance.

Sorry about it

[Tattooo]

Come on man thats a bunch of crap. Sac PD at the moment is so under staffed it's not funny. They have all their deputys pulling 50-60 hour weeks. They just got I think permission to hire like 40 more officers I think it was.

As for you bikes, lilcritterkitty, I asked my dad who works for the District Attorney's office as well as the Sheriff's Dept. in Sac if he thought you would get your bikes back and he said very slim chance.

Sorry about it

No, that is not a bunch of crap. I have lived in other cities and had my bike found within 72 hours because the cops were not so inept at their jobs. Sacramento is a hole to begin with, but the fact that simply put the cops don't care. Even with guns stolen from my house, they don't give a flying rat crap.

Furthermore, I was a cop for a few years. If my Capt. ever thought we were slacking like Sac PD does, he'd fire our ass on the spot.

Face it, Sac PD is lazy, and overworked, not a good combo.

[sanjuro]

Bike theft ranks up there with jaywalking and open container enforcement, and it has very little to do with the local police.

Take Karim's for example. A known bike fence for decades, only in 2005 have the Berkeley PD done something.

Once in a while something good happens in a bike theft, but it is rare, and very unlikely caused by the police. My shop got a bike back from Karim's, only because one of their employees noticed our shop logo on a seat bag and bothered to make a call. He now works for us because Karim fired him for his "disloyalty".

[MVRIDER]

I can't preach renters insurance enough. For me it's a simple equation: Loose a 2005 V-10 that I payed...$XXXX.XX for :evil: and be totaly a$$ed out, or pay $18 a month to have it completely covered by my renters insurance (you know I'd just get an even better one!). Yeah, over a year $18/month adds up, but it also covers much, much more than theft, like if my apartment burns down and they find me to be liable, I'm covered for $25k of it.

[KastleBravo]

Check Craigslist. A new listing for two TREK mountain bikes appeared today. One is an 18", and the other is a 16". There are pictures as well.

Good Luck,
Joel

[morethanjake543]

only six years late . . .

[KastleBravo]

That is correct, almost seven actually. Thanks for pointing that out. I got to this forum because my bike was stolen recently, and I was looking for some information on how to recover it. I'm happy to report that my bike is back safely in my garage after being gone for over a week.

I let a friend use my 20 year old Gary Fisher HKII. I gave him explicit instructions to lock it up if it was ever unattended--even for a minute--and handed him my 20 year old Kryptonite. Three weeks later I saw him on a girls bike. Here's what I did to get my bike back.

I drove up and down every street within two miles of where it got stolen. I drove past bike racks in front of stores hoping to find my lost ride. Well, my efforts paid off last Sunday when I saw what looked like my bike in front of the Raleys near my house.

When I jumped out and strode up for a closer look, there was no doubt about it, that was definetely my bike. My 1990's era, Gary Fisher HKII, with an unmistakable paint job (hunter green with silver spots) was right there within reach. There were a couple of guys there too, but by now the adrenaline had kicked in and I just walked up, and without saying a word, grabbed my bike and started toward my Jeep. Right about then I heard a metalic sound. But before it had a chance to register, I looked over and noticed an open padlock on the ground behind the bike. His lock had popped open and fell on the ground when I grabbed the bike!

Needless to say the guys were a little stunned. When the now-bicycle-less-one realized what was happening, he jumped up and challenged me like "hey man--what'd ya think your doing"! I said "I'm taking back what's mine", and procedeed to open the back of my Jeep. He wasn't done. "How do I know you're not stealing the bike from me"? This guy accused me of robbing him! Resistance was the last thing I wanted.

All I can say is thank God for cell phones and 9-1-1 because after about 30 seconds with the emergency operator, he put up his hands and said "whoa, I guess it must really be your bike" (and something about being mad at his friend for loaning him a hot bike). Incredibly, I had not only found what, by rights, should have been gone forever, but it was in the back of my Jeep.

I noticed the rear wheel had been changed so I wasn't ready to leave just yet. Say what you will about scummy bicycle thieves, but A) I wasn't sure he was the one who stole it, and B) The guy was cooperating. So I threw him a $10 bill and said, "here you go, thats your reward for finding my bike". He looked confused and showed his buddy the $10 bill. As good a time as any to ask him, "Hey, do you know where the ARAYA wheel is"? "I'd really like to get that back too". He said he'd call me if he had any info on the wheel and gave me his cell number. I called his phone so he'd have my number too.

I got a call at 9:22 that evening from "Chris" (actualy probably his real name). "Meet me at the gas station I've got your rim". OK, I'll bite. I had no back-up, but went and checked it out anyway. With the guys Huffy replacement rim in hand (my sense of fair-play is making me sick by now too), I pulled into the Circle K off Mather Field near Rockingham (Rancho-Cor-bad-part-of-town), and he was there with my wheel. My HKII is sporting it's original ARAYA's, and I'm still in one piece--unprecedented.

Anyway, if someone is in a similar situation, and wants to find their recently stolen bike, spend some time every day looking for it. All you need is a little faith that finding it is at least a possibility. And what the hell, you just might get lucky.

[Instigatr]

Awesome story. Glad you're alive.