A 50-year-old man is in custody for stealing three bikes from a Fremont residence.
On Friday, North Precinct officers arrested the man after he was spotted with a stolen bike, which he was apparently towing behind a moped.
According to the SPD Blotter, during an early morning patrol, Officer John Randle was driving on the 3900 block of Phinney Ave N. when he spotted a man driving a moped with a mountain bike trailing behind. The officer began following the moped, at which point the moped driver released the mountain bike, leaving it in the middle of the road in order to make a quick getaway.
The police officer found a nameplate on the bike and returned it to its owner, who told him his garage had been burglarized overnight and that he was missing two additional bikes.
Police say the man then took a walk through the neighborhood hoping to find his stolen bikes, and happened to find one of his bikes at the intersection of Burke Ave N and NW 43rd St. He called Officer Randle and by a stroke of luck, the suspect pulled up to the scene just as police arrived.
The suspect then took off on his moped, fell off, and kicked in the door of a nearby building. After a brief standoff, the suspect decided to surrender. And, in another stroke of luck, a person approached and delivered the third missing bike to officers as they were wrapping up their investigation.
The burglar is now booked into King County Jail.