Bike thief caught again after release from jail
I found this article quite interesting……..
David McArthur Bike thief caught
again after
release from jail
Police encourage residents to report thefts, suspicious activity
By Jeremy Selweski
C & G Staff Writer
FERNDALE A bicycle thief who was recently released from jail for breaking and entering was arrested after Ferndale police discovered that he was once again stealing bikes from local residents.
David McArthur, 35, of Ferndale pleaded guilty in Ferndale 43rd District Court on Sept. 1 to charges of larceny and was sentenced to 20 days in Oakland County Jail.
According to Detective Lt. Bill Wilson, at 4:40 p.m. on Aug. 30, Ferndale officers were dispatched to the Save-A-Lot grocery store at 430 W. Nine Mile Road, where a 16-year-old boy reported that his bicycle had just been stolen. The boy said that he had parked the bike outside the store before running inside to make a purchase. When he came back outside, it was gone.
While the officers were talking to the boy, Wilson said, a young girl and her mother approached them, and the girl indicated that she had witnessed the theft. She said that a man rode up to the store on a bike, grabbed the boy’s parked bicycle and then rode away, leaving his own bike behind.
As this conversation was taking place, McArthur returned for the bike that he had originally been riding. The girl spotted him and identified him as the thief, and the officers placed him under arrest.
McArthur admitted that he had stolen the first bike from a house in the 400 block of East Woodland Street, Wilson said. The officers then went to the house and spoke with a woman, who said that her bike had been stolen on Aug. 27 but that she had not called the police to file a report.
Next, the officers visited McArthur’s house, also located on East Woodland, where they noticed two bicycles lying in the front yard. They spoke with the homeowner, who said that the bikes did not belong to McArthur and that he had probably stolen them. The officers confiscated the bikes in hopes of returning them to their rightful owners.
Wilson said that police are unsure why McArthur was stealing bikes around the neighborhood. However, the majority of bike thefts that we get are from people trying to sell them for money, he explained. We don’t know exactly what he was trying to do, but that would be a good guess.
McArthur was previously arrested on July 21 after he attempted to steal a bicycle from a garage in the 1500 block of Spencer Street. During that incident, police were able to track him down in a backyard in Hazel Park, where he was found hiding inside a garbage can. He pleaded guilty to felony charges of breaking and entering and was sentenced to 34 days in jail, as well as 18 months probation.
Apparently, he’s not a quick learner, Wilson remarked. This is a strange case, though, because until that first (bike theft), he’s had no recorded criminal past.
Wilson also pointed out that bicycle larcenies have recently become more common in Ferndale, with 16 reports filed in the past month alone. It is likely that many more thefts occurred that were not reported, he added, as Ferndale police have a number of recovered bikes in their impound that cannot be traced back to the owners because a report was never filed.
Residents can help reduce these incidents by making sure to notify police anytime they are victims of a crime. Police cannot effectively investigate, make arrests, or return stolen goods unless reports are made, Wilson said. Often, people feel it is fruitless to call the police or feel that the police do not want to be bothered. This is far from true.
For a cost of only $1, he noted, residents can purchase a bicycle license from the Ferndale Police Department. These licenses provide an additional tool in helping officers catch bike thieves and return stolen bicycles to their proper owners.
Residents should also report any suspicious activity that they observe, Wilson said. For instance, residents should be on the lookout for groups of kids riding with two or three passengers on a single bike especially an older, more beat-up model which could be an indication that they are shopping for other, newer bikes to steal.
This is a common method used by thieves coming across from Detroit and quickly peddling back with their booty, Wilson explained. Neighbors should not hesitate to phone police when they observe unknown youths in their neighborhood riding multiple people to a bike.
You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Selweski at jselweski@candgnews.com or at (586) 218-5004.
Copyright © 2008 C & G Publishing
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