Condition of Bicycle / Distinguishing Features:
This is a 1991 bike with over 10,000 miles on it, a daily rider hybrid.
This bike was painted black with blue paint splatters. However, the black paint is scratched off in many areas exposing the bright green factory paint and bare metal in a couple places.
There is a sticker on that handle bars that says Marquette University but the sticker is not very noticeable and the thieves could have removed it. The rear tire is a quick release with a paddle lock installed over the quick release lever so that it cannot be taken off. The rear rim is new, probably still has a sales tag on one of the spokes, the front rim is very old. The petals are both black but they do not match. One is plastic and the other is aluminium. There are two holes on the top of the bike seat to aid in the installation of two cables ties which hold the seat to the seat frame one of the cable ties is missing which cause the seat the shift if picked up on. The bike lights are Radian 850s but the actual lights were taken out for charging when stolen only the sockets remain one on the front handle bars and one on the back seat post. There is also a rear facing red bike light behind the rear seat post. I think that there may also be a key ring with nothing attached to it affixed under the rear seat post.
There is a large silver almost silly looking bike bell attached to the handle bars on the left hand side.
The bike tires are Kenda Kwest brand.
There are not water bottle holders even though some of photos show them. The photos are very old and a lot more black paint has been scratched off showing more green since the photos.
By far the most distinctive feature of this bike is that it is a black bike with the paint scratched off revealing bright green paint in many areas. In the paint scratches one can see the names Merlin and in a different place Stinson.
It was stolen with five other bikes when a home was broken into in Lawndale on July 6th, 2016.
Incident Description
Which type of area was your bike stolen from?:
Garage or enclosed parking area.
How was the bike locked?:
Other situation, please describe below.
How long was the bike locked in this location?:
Incident Description:
The home owner discovered the incident at 9:00 AM on July 6th, 2016. But had noticed at about 3:00 AM that the garage light was on and assumed that a housemate had left it on which is not typical. When discovered at 9:00 AM the garage light was still on and the man door closest to the house had its door handle locked in addition to the locking mechanism which the home owner normally uses. The man door, lock and window did not appear to be tampered with.
Presumably, the thieves stole the items during the lightning storm so that the homeowners would not hear them and possibly also because it would be unlikely that the homeowners would want to use the bikes the next morning, due to the rain. Presumably, they also further locked the door closes to the house in order the slow down the homeowner in the even that they were noticed.
