UPD returns prized possession to happy cyclist, others not so lucky
“I freaked,” he said. “I found my bike lock there, and it was cut.”
Johnson, undeclared sophomore, said he immediately called UPD. They arrived within 10 minutes to take his report.
“Eventually, almost three weeks later, they called me and told me they found my bike at the pawn shop,” Johnson said.
He said the bike was a gift from his brother. It is worth about $1,200.
“I went on a 5-hour bike ride that day I got it (back),” Johnson said. “It was pretty exciting.”
Johnson, though more fortunate than others, is not the only student with who has had to go through this.
An increase in stolen bikes this semester has led to two arrests, according to the University Police Department.
UPD Officer Otto Glenewinkel said 11 bikes have been stolen from campus this year. The last incident was reported Feb. 15. Glenewinkel said there is usually a ring of people involved when several bikes are stolen in a short amount of time.
“They travel from university to university and they’ll stay at one university for a while until police start developing a case,” Glenewinkel said. “Then they decide to move on.”
Glenewinkel said police suspect the recent wave of thefts at Texas State is connected to stolen bikes at other universities. He said stolen bikes are typically sold at pawnshops or in Mexico, or disassembled and sold for parts on the Internet.
“Very few bikes are actually kept and used,“ he said.
Glenewinkel suggests investing in a good lock to avoid becoming a victim of theft.
“I would say stay completely away from cable locks because they can be cut,” Glenewinkel said.
Glenewinkel said he recommends U-locks.
“It takes every ounce of strength and four or five tries (to cut the locks),” he said. “It’s going to protect your bike because a thief is going to see this and walk away.“
Glenewinkel recommends threading a cable lock through both wheels of the bike and then back through the U-lock once the bike is secured to a rack.
“So it’s a double layer of security,” he said. “The odds of your bicycle getting stolen at that point are very slim.”
Aldon Mines, art senior and Bike Cave employee, said he agrees a U-lock combined with a cable is a good defense against thieves. The wheels on bikes can be removed without using tools.
“People will just come up and steal wheels,” he said. “It doesn’t happen as often, but it does happen. I’ve seen sets where you can buy a
U-lock and a cable (together) so you can run the cable through your wheels.”
Glenewinkel said students can register their bikes for free through UPD’s Web site.
“This is not yet mandatory, but may be at some point,” he said. “If we found a bike, we would know who to send it back to.”
Mines said people can join the national bike registry. Registering makes it more likely a stolen bike will be located if it is pawned in a different city. Registration can be achieved at nationalbikeregistry.com, and a certificate is provided to the registered bike’s owner. Ten dollars covers a bike for a decade and $25 offers coverage for 30 years. Family registrations, which cover up to five bikes at a single address for 10 years, can be purchased for $25. Bikes can be registered for 99 cents after being stolen so they can be returned if located.
“If you get a bike stolen here you’re probably not going to find it on Craigslist or Ebay,” Mines said.
Johnson said he keeps his bike under his bed fearing it will be stolen again. Johnson said he was given the option to press charges against the person who pawned his bike, but declined.
“Honestly I don’t even care,“ Johnson said. “That’s not my concern. I got my bike back. I don’t need to do anything to them. I just don’t even care to know who it is.”
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