Crime Blotter: Bike Theft Foiled

Bike Thieves Thwarted by Neighbors

Two residents in the 5300 block of Linda Vista Drive reportedly foiled an alleged bicycle theft at 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 1.

According to the incident report, a resident spotted two men running up his driveway away from his house, each carrying one of his bikes. He reportedly yelled at them, “I’m gonna kick your [expletive]” while running after the men, who threw the bikes into the back of a grey pick-up truck before getting into the truck’s cab.

The victim positioned himself in front of the truck in an effort to take a picture of the vehicle’s license plate, but narrowly missed being hit by the truck as it moved forward.

A neighbor witnessing the incident managed to run to his friend’s aid and pull one bike from the back of the truck, but was struck by the vehicle’s rear bumper in the process. The victim was also able to grab his bikes and a third bike out of the back of the truck before it sped away.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies recovered fingerprints from the bikes, and booked both of them into evidence. One bike was described as a boy’s 12-inch black and red Schwinn Falcon.

Gardening Equipment Stolen

A gardener for the reported gardening equipment stolen from the back of a district-owned pick up truck parked at , 4540 Encinas Dr. on August 25.

The gardener told deputies that while blowing leafs on a sidewalk at the school, he saw a late-model, full-size green van with no plates leaving the parking lot at the school’s playground. Noticing the equipment gone from the school district truck, he ran after the van, but did not catch up to it.

A leaf blower, hedge trimmers, chainsaw, weed eaters, and a Honda lawn mower were reported stolen. The items are valued at $3,200.