East Precinct officers arrested a man and a woman Wednesday after they tried to sell a stolen rare, custom-built bike back to its rightful owner.
The slightly confusing chain of events began earlier this week when a woman called a local bike shop owner, looking to sell the rare $6,500 bicycle, taken in a burglary earlier this month in Columbia City.
It turns out the woman had called the bike shop owner who had custom-built the bicycle. Recognizing his own work, and realizing the woman was trying to sell a stolen bike, the shop owner told the woman he knew an interested buyer, took down her phone number, and passed it on to the bike’s rightful owner.
The bike’s owner called the woman, set up a time to meet, and called police for backup.
Around 3 pm. the woman, accompanied by a man, pulled into a parking lot near Broadway and E. Pike Street, where officers confronted the pair about the bicycle. Their stories didn’t add up.
The woman claimed the bike had belonged to a deceased fiance. However, her partner claimed he had bought the bike at a park in South Seattle.
Police returned the bike to its owner, and arrested the man and the woman for possession of stolen property.