A tip from a sleuthing bike theft victim led police to staggering number of stolen bicycles and a suspected chop shop Wednesday in Edmonds. Now detectives want to know if they have your bike.
SPD Major Crimes Taskforce Detective Scotty Bach began investigating the case last week, on April 7th, after receiving a tip from a man who had found his own stolen bike for sale on Craigslist.
Major Crimes detectives contacted the Craigslist seller and said they were interested in buying a bicycle. The seller met with undercover detectives, who arrested him after discovering he’d sold them a bike stolen from a transitional housing program for homeless veterans.
The seller–who police learned had already sold off their tipster’s bike–told police he frequently sold stolen bicycles at a home in Edmonds.
Detectives went to the Edmonds home, in the 21000 block of 80th Ave W, and found a huge stash of bicycles sitting out in the yard. They checked the serial numbers on two of the bicycles, learned they were stolen, and requested a warrant to search the home.
Police seized 60 bicycles from the home, where they believe a resident was running a chop shop, breaking down and rebuilding bicycles to sell online.
If you believe one of the bikes posted below belongs to you, email Scotty.Bach(at)Seattle.gov and include the number of the pictured bike. In order to claim your bike, you will need to provide proof of ownership, like a purchase receipt, case number related to the bike or photo clearly showing you with the bike.
