is this a stolen bike?

[ben]

i was riding the MAX last week and during the 3 stops i was hopping (gateway to hollywood around 4pm), i looked over to see the bike hanging next to mine.

it seemed odd for some reason, so i took a closer look.

it was an older bianchi frame (red and black).
fairly nice tires on it with red stripes on the rear, and yellow on the front.
the front wheel was smaller than the rear.
only a front brake....
and then i realized it had a cassette on the back (without any derailers/cables/etc).

the most likely scenario i could think of was someone stole a fixie and couldn't ride it, so they pulled off the fixed cog and slapped on a junk cassette....annnnd kept riding with just the front brake.

no one was really standing near/ paying attention to the bike....so i'm not positive on the person who was riding it.

was i incorrect in assuming it might have been a stolen bike?

[Cowboy_X]

maybe

or maybe he bought it at a yard sale

or maybe it was a gift from an estranged uncle

any bike could be a stolen bike