Bike Bandit Strikes Again

Just a note from a loving victim

​Earlier this week, we warned readers about the rash of bike thefts happening in the Inner Sunset. The thief appears to have migrated to Cole Valley, where there have been increased reports of a cycle crook.

Police Captain Denis O'Leary told SF Weekly that the thief has hit garages on Carl Street from Cole to Arguello over the last week.

"He pries open garage door vents, breaks garage door windows, or reaches through mailbox slots to reach garage door openers," O'Leary tells us. Park station police have stepped up patrols in their district, which includes Cole Valley, Inner Sunset, Twin Peaks and parts of the Castro.

The rash of bike burglaries started on Aug. 4 when someone had broken into a garage on the 1300 block of Sixth Avenue and stole a few bikes. The next evening, a resident living on the 1200 block of Second Avenue heard someone break into his garage and ransack it. The victim confronted the suspect, who then pulled a knife and threatened him. The robber made off with the victim's bike.

The following week, there were three more reports of garage burglaries, two of which bikes were stolen. In some of the burglaries, witnesses described the thief as a black man, between the ages of 40 and 45. He's been seen wearing baseball caps and has a salt and pepper beard. He is roughly 6-feet tall and weighs about 180 pounds.

Anyone with information or to report a similar incident should call police at (415) 553-0123.

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