bike into a truck in Old Town this morning.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)
The Portland Police Bureau served a search warrant early this morning in Old Town and among the confiscated property was 18 stolen bicycles. The bust happened at 211 NW 3rd Avenue. I was able to snap several photos of the bikes before they left the scene (see if you spot your bike below).
According to a PPB statement, the search warrant is part of an ongoing Federal drug trafficking investigation being conducted by the Metro Gang Task Force. Several arrests were made this morning.
According to Officer Terry Colbert, whom I spoke to at the scene. This is just one of several recent busts where the police have confiscated multiple stolen bikes. A recent sweep of a homeless camp near the Hawthorne Bridge and Eastbank Esplanade (near the Vera Katz statue) resulted in 20 stolen bikes in what the PPB believes was a mini chop-shop operation.
At the crime scene in Old Town this morning, the police methodically processed each stolen bike. They recorded serial numbers, filled out evidence tags, loaded the bikes onto a pickup truck, and then whisked them away to the property room. I noticed lots of nice bikes and there was also a dozen or so wheels separate from the complete bikes. There was a Centurion road bike, high-end full-suspension mountain bikes from Marin, Klein and Specialized, a few Treks, a GT hybrid/city bike, a Kona mountain bike, a few frames that had already been parted out, and more.
This morning incident underscores the importance of documenting your bike’s serial number and/or other distinguishing features and filing a police report if it gets stolen. I hope at least a few of these bikes are re-united with their owners. See more photos of the bikes below…
If/when the PPB releases more details on the make/models of the bikes, I will update this post.
If you see your bike in the photos below, call the PPB’s non-emergency line, (503) 823-3333, and be prepared to have documentation that proves you are the owner.
UPDATE: Police have arrested seven people. They have also released a statement saying they are processing the bikes and other items and will “attempt to determine the rightful owners.” Also, read their statement below for advice on how to get your stolen bike back:
Returning stolen property to the rightful owner is important to the Portland Police Bureau and can be accomplished easier if serial numbers of stolen property are reported to police. If you are the victim of a burglary, theft or car prowl, please include serial numbers and good descriptions of the stolen items in your report. Reports can be filed online by visiting www.portlandpolice.com and clicking the “Submit a Police Report” tab.