An Email to SE Sem Hts email group:
"Monday, my bike was stolen off my side porch in broad daylight. It was locked up, but the thief evidently had bolt cutters. He didn’t even leave the lock and steel cable.
Today, my wife was sitting on the porch and saw a black male, about 18, riding one bike and pulling another one that still had the lock on it.
It didn’t bother me that much about my bike; it was used and cost me $75. But what bothered me was the sheer audacity of these guys. How can they get away with going up on porches, taking out bolt cutters and stealing bikes that are locked up. Then they calmly pull them down public streets.
Again, I know the cops are busy, but if they would just start patrolling some of these back streets occasionally, they might catch these guys either stealing, or pulling the stolen bikes. There is no other reason for someone to be riding one bike and pulling another unless they stole it."
I tend to agree with the writer about second bikes being at least suspicious and should be called in and stopped by police.
A year or so ago after getting some food at a fast food restaurant, I once saw someone with a second bike coming from the neighborhood north of Hillsborough. I followed him to a mobile home at 17th or 19th st. I called the cops and let them know. Likely nothing came of it except that maybe the bike theft cops could add him as a list of suspects.
Could Be Sherry has a great bike theft chase story involving a standoff.
That's nothing. People recently broke into our very visible back window in broad daylight during a work day, used our luggage to rob us blind, then walked out of our house with multiple bags of luggage.
ReplyDeleteIf a cop doesn't stop people walking down the street with luggage -- they aren't going to stop people with 2 bikes.
Love the neighborhood -- hate the crime. And we're only 1 house off central by Hillborough High! Our area is patroled!
"black males", what a surprise.
ReplyDeleteI am now feeling like TPD is becoming more like the Code Enforcment Department. (Except Nice) Not sure what they really do, but when things get ugly, they have a meeting, or do something to trick those that still believe in them that "Hey, we are in your neighobrhood, you many not see us but we are there" How do you argue with that? When Code is going rough, they decide to "host a workshop" or they "come to the rescue" and bombard the hood with citations and say "See we are committed to your area" when all along, they have been sitting around doing nothing.
ReplyDeleteRIDDLE ME THIS--
If code were truely proactive, how could it be on the side street to Home Depot, the Garage Sale that has been going on for 10 years. How could the Ford Explorer with NO wheels and wrecked front end still be sitting on the right away.
Torgo,
ReplyDeleteLiving by Hillsborough High gets you an added bonus; bored school kids.
When I used to live on Caracas across from the school, I had the daily opportunity to walk my dogs through a haze of blunt smoke in the alley. Now while that used to be me back in the day, I'm a little too old for such things and I started calling the school resource officer to run the kids off.To little avail, they'd just be back the next day.
One morning I woke up to find that every car in the parking lot had been broken in to and looted. The high school kids take? - about 3 grand in cash and goods between 6 cars. And, in a feat of extreme stupidity on my part, a Smith and Wesson .357 was taken from my truck and was now in the hands of a teenager.
It may be nice over there, but you've got a ready supply of bored felons-in-the-making* to contend with.
*the minority of the school population, I'm quite sure.