Washingtoner - Spokane: Stolen Bikes Recovered

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Julie Humphreys, Public Safety Communication Manager, 509.625.5868

High-end bikes stolen but quickly located by Downtown Precinct officers.

On Saturday, April 3^rd, a visitor was in downtown Spokane when he became the unsuspecting victim of a theft. He had two high-end bikes on a bike rack attached to the rear of his car. While parked in an open parking lot, sometime during the night, a couple of thieves damaged the bike rack and locking mechanism and got away with the bikes. One was an Ibis Ripmo and the other was a Canyon. The full suspension mountain bikes are together valued at over $5000. The bike rack damage is estimated at $1,200.

Later that day, a Downtown Precinct officer stopped 20 year old convicted felon, Cole Rapp, who was in possession of the stolen Canyon mountain bike. He was arrested for Theft 1^st degree and Malicious Mischief 2^nd degree and booked into the Spokane County jail. Rapp also had a felony warrant for Possession of Stolen Property 2^nd degree, Vehicle Prowling, and a felony probation violation warrant for Possession of a Stolen Firearm and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm 1^st degree.

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Two days later, officers with the Downtown Precinct did additional follow-up and located the second stolen bike in an apartment of a complex located at 1^st Avenue and Division Street. The second suspect, 21 year old Sequoia Woods, was arrested and booked into the Spokane County jail for Theft 1^st degree, Malicious Mischief 2^nd degree and Possession of a Controlled Substance with the Intent to Deliver. 29 grams of meth, 40 fentanyl pills, and $400 were recovered.

Both suspects are frequent offenders in the downtown area and well known to Downtown Precinct officers. Both have previous convictions; Rapp has 7, including 4 felony convictions and Woods has 1 misdemeanor conviction.

Both bikes were found quickly enough that they had not been damaged. Usually when bikes are recovered they are heavily damaged, repainted, and components are swapped out, which destroys the value of the bikes.

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SPD encourages you to be self-aware and responsible in securing your belongings. Its good practice to remove valuables from your vehicle, even if locked. Please don't count on locks alone. If you have to leave your car with valuables in or attached to it, at the minimum try to park where you can watch your vehicle. Unattended bikes on car racks are an easy target for thieves. Most locks are easily and quickly defeated and thieves don't care if they damage your car in the process.

It's also a good idea to mark valuable property with your driver's license number or other information that will allow officers to identify owners of recovered stolen property. Registering your bike with the City of Spokane can also be helpful in recovering a stolen bike. See https://myspokane311.force.com/citizen/request/MSBIKEREGT/details

Filed Under: Government, City

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