Trio Charged With Stealing High-End Bikes
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Three young men have been arrested for allegedly stealing $20,000 worth of high-end bicycles and accessories from a small shop along the Chicago Lakefront Trail.
WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports 19-year-old Jeremiah Aviles, 19-year-old Israel Perez, and 22-year-old Mauricio Franco have been arrested on felony burglary charges.
The three are accused of breaking into Lakeshore Bike, a small bicycle shop on the Lakefront Trail at Recreation and Addison drives, around 5 a.m. on Sept. 7.
"These guys are avid cyclists, and they cherry-picked the best equipment in my place," owner Demian March said.
One stolen bike, a custom-made specialized Venge with electronic shifting and carbon wheels, was worth about $7,000.
Four other stolen bikes – including three Fuji Norcom racing bikes, and an ultra-lightweight Kestrel Legend – were valued at $1,500 each.
The burglary was recorded by the store's security camera, and the footage helped police find the suspects.
"It was all thanks to some of the local bike cops who we help out while they're on duty," March said. "They had heard what had happened. They were pretty appalled, and they did a bunch of investigation on their own time, and saw this thing through."
March said police told him other cyclists identified at least one of the suspects from the surveillance video footage, and when police tracked him down, that suspect admitted to the whole thing.