(Photo: WashCo Sheriff)
Washington County Sheriff deputies thought they’d just recovered a stolen bike; but it ended up leading them to a large cache of other stolen property.
According to a statement issued late Friday by the sheriff’s office, a $6,000 bike stolen off a car rack led them to the arrest of two prolific thieves. Here’s how it went down:
On November 26, 2014, a Washington County Deputy Sheriff took a report of a $6,000 bicycle stolen off of a vehicle rack in a parking lot at NW Murray Boulevard and NW Cornell Road. On November 27, 2014, the owner of the bicycle called the Sheriff’s Office to report they saw their bicycle advertised for sale on a website called “Offer Up“.
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Sheriff’s Deputies located Nicklas James Rocha, 27, and Kathryn Ann Carley, 39, both from Portland, in Beaverton as they were trying to sell the stolen bicycle.They were both arrested concerning the bicycle theft. Deputies found Heroin and related smoking items that were believed to belong to Ms. Carley.
After returning the bicycle and related accessories to the rightful owner, Sheriff’s Deputies went to Mr. Rocha’s residence and found about 100 items that were undoubtedly stolen. There were boxes of shoes, boots, car parts, clothing, jewelry, and many other assorted presents and items.
In the end, Rocha was charged with First Degree Theft and Criminal Mischief and Carley was charged with Possession of Heroin and Criminal Conspiracy. Both were released after posting bonds.
This case is a good reminder that the scourge of bike theft isn’t just about bike theft.
Since we announced the upcoming Portland Bike Theft Summit last week, we’ve heard from several readers. One of them is a local bike shop owner whose insights are very important as we think about how to tackle the issue:
“I feel strongly that addressing the problem should not be limited to bikes. Bikes are just a tiny aspect of the iceberg. Since the problem is bigger than bikes, the solutions are bigger too. Yes, we need more enforcement but as you know that won’t stem the tide. The issue is a broader social one and one that it will take more than the bike community to address.”
We will definitely have this case — and those wise words above — on our minds on December 10th when we host a community discussion about this growing problem.
Thanks for reading.
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Arrests don’t mean a thing if the thieves are back on the street the next day stealing more bikes ( and other stuff ).
They got arrested in Washington County, so they have much less of a chance of forced release due to overcrowding than they would at MCDC.
“Yes, we need more enforcement but as you know that won’t stem the tide. The issue is a broader social one and one that it will take more than the bike community to address.”
Hmm…. I don’t really think those “wise words” are very conducive to anything useful, but rather promote a certain defeatist attitude that the problem is too big, to ingrained, too “broad.” Not trying to oversimplify, but more enforcement absolutely *will* stem the tide of bike theft. To argue that it won’t is to argue that enforcement should be discontinued. Enforcement may not be the only tool but it remains an important one, and the bike community (allied with other groups) can definitely make significant progress in this area.
Yes, but it is important to recognize that there are deeper issues at play. The fact that this lady was busted with heroin and heroin accessories is not coincidental. The fact that somebody can get busted like that and not get an automatic referral to inpatient drug treatment is as disappointing to me as them getting busted and not doing any jail time.
caesar wrote:
I disagree completely. The bike shop owner’s words are valid and important to keep in mind. The person who said them is not saying enforcement is useless — merely that we shouldn’t rely on it too much and that we should look to enforce a broader set of crimes in addition to bike theft.
And by the way, I don’t appreciate your dismissive tone. Please be respectful of everyone’s perspective. You can debate someone’s point, but it sounds to me like you are jumping to conclusions and saying that someone’s thoughts aren’t “conducive to anything useful” is pretty close to an insult. Thanks for understanding.
Jonathan, I’m really very sorry if you took offense; that was not my intention. But I really don’t see how what I wrote was insulting to you or the anonymous bike shop owner you quoted – I was merely disagreeing and qualifying my disagreement with my own rationale. And I’m not sure how you are able to infer “tone” from a few lines of text either. And the fact that 10 readers apparently agree with my comment must mean something….
Again, sorry for upsetting you. I’m just voicing an opinion and grateful for the opportunity to debate it.
C.
Thanks caesar. I appreciate your reply and hope you continue to contribute to the site.
And FWIW, I base my comment moderation on how the words make me feel when I read them, combined with the context they were left in. I’ve been doing this for 10s of thousands of comments over several years so I feel like my internal moderation tool is pretty sharp. ;-).
And I do often make mistakes and get things wrong.
Thanks for understanding.
Glad they got caught.
Stolen bikes = the “new” currency/ liquid assets of thieves
No mention of whether the $6,000 bike was “locked” to the vehicle bike rack. Mine is, always.
My bikes aren’t worth anywhere near $6,000, but I never leave them unattended on the bike rack. Sure, I could lock them to the rack, but the rack itself is held to the car only by straps that would be easy to cut. It wouldn’t be easy, but someone who was sufficiently determined or had a truck nearby could just walk away with the whole works.
My cheap racks (Inno) lock the front fork to the rack, and when the rack is locked, the bolts that hold the rack to the car are covered. Could be defeated with a crowbar, but adequate to leave it for a short period. Having said that, if I had a $6,000 bike, I doubt I’d leave it on the roof at all.
What scum. Thieves are such a burden on society and good will. Terrible people.
I had an interesting experience. Had some packages stolen off my porch and the next day my house was broken into and ransacked. Coincidence?
Anyway, I called Amazon and Sierra Trading post to inquire about my packages. They both were nonchalant about them going missing and had replacements out the next day with no-charge. I was really surprised and it seemed like it happens all the time for them and is a cost of business.
A UPS driver appeared on my porch a few weeks later asking me to sign a followup statement that I had not received the packages. He indicated that this happens all the time to the point where they are meant to be on the look out for being followed.
I learned that this is a really common occurrence with no real consequences. Maybe it is seen as a victim-less crime but as I found out, it breeds more invasive crime. Until we start to really get on our law enforcement and DAs, it is going to continue to be a tweakers delight.
Acknowledging deeper social concerns and barriers such as drug addiction and paths out of poverty (be it job access or mental health), these broader concerns don’t fully explain why I fret leaving bikes “insufficiently” locked. Rather my basement, garage, racked on my truck, outside a theater, a store, with ulocks and best practices, I’m still relieved my bikes are whole when I return. In my head unlocked is as good as gone –a sad, near paranoia that does not exist with other personal property.
Both the public and private sectors have gone to great lengths to provide safe, secure bike parking and/or storage for Portland commuters and enthusiast. Still, with little effort-to-outcome on enforcement and rewarding effort-to-outcome (and risk) to steal bicycles, I wonder what will be the deterrent that off-sets the justification in the minds of thieves.
Yes we have social concerns to address and maybe the easy pickings of bikes are fueling the lives of some people in need of help. But bikes also fuel the lives of many living on the up-and-up across the entire spectrum from student, to homeless, to professionals. I’d love to confidently leave my bike unattended. I’d love to not ever be relieved when I see my bike.