A 2018 Cannondale bike was taken from our yard and a police report was filed.
Or Your Property, Here’s How to Help Detectives
Two years ago, my son and I shared a car, but as anyone who has done that in L.A. knows, it can present a real problem. Public transportation to and from Pacific Palisades is spotty, and using Uber and Lyft are not always viable alternatives.
An exercise junkie, and introspective after taking AP Environmental Science with Steve Englemann at Palisades High School, my son offered to ride his bike to work in Marina Del Rey.
After nine months, the bike, left over from middle school, would not shift gears and at one point the entire chain system fell off. It was inexpensive to start with and now needed so many repairs that it made sense to buy a new one. As a gift, my husband purchased a Cannondale from Helen’s Cycles in Santa Monica last November 30.
My son had the bike two weeks. On his way home from work, he stopped to work out at Gold’s Gym in Venice, and someone stole the seat. My son then biked the length of Santa Monica and up Temescal Canyon Road without a bicycle seat to get home.
He took the seat off the old bike and put it on the Cannondale. He didn’t report that theft, because as he sagely pointed out, the LAPD had more to do than look for a bicycle seat.
His bike was usually kept in the garage, with that door shut. The last week of April, he parked it beside the house (behind a locked gate), and a few days later it was missing.
I went to the West L.A. Police Station on May 1 to report the stolen bike. The station is located at 1663 Butler Ave., near the intersection of the 405 and 10 Freeways. The person who took the report was helpful and I learned that I could have filed the report online.
The stolen bicycle never made it into Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore’s Weekly Crime Report. I asked Moore about it and he said sometimes the front desk doesn’t get all the reports to him.
On June 10, I received a call from Detective Jacobs. He asked if I had ever gone on offerup.com or Craigslist to see if the bike had been put up for sale. I said I had not. The detective said that often people have found their missing items on those websites. He told me that if I did go on a website and locate the bike, to call him before attempting to “buy” back the bike.
In my initial report I did not have the bike’s serial number, but subsequently, I had gone to Helen’s and they were able to give it to me. I supplied the detective with that number.
Offerup has numerous bikes, but none were my son’s. Interestingly, there were two Cannondale bicycle seats listed for sale, one for $10 and one for $15.
Detective Jacob told me in a June 10 email, “I hope we can find your stolen items for you.”
If you have property stolen, here’s how to help LAPD:
- File a police report. If you have a serial number or other identification, make sure the detectives have that information. Visit: http://www.lapdonline.org/home/content_basic_view/60409 or call (310) 444-0702.
- Check online websites to see if you can locate your missing item. Visit: offerup.comor Craigslist.org
- Let the detective know you have located it, so LAPD can help you deal with the criminals.