YOUR AD HERE »

Glenwood Police discover bike chop shop

Glenwood Springs police discovered what appeared to be a bicycle chop shop on Midland Avenue, and the department is looking for the original owners.

It’s difficult to say how many bikes are involved, said Police Chief Terry Wilson, because many of them have been stripped into pieces.

But Wilson estimated that all the components his officers found on Aug. 3 could make up about 20 bikes.



Police were alerted to the scene by neighbors who reported suspicious activity involving a large volume of bikes.

“We’ve seen some pretty sophisticated bike thefts in town before,” said the chief. He recalled a band of bike thieves who came from Leadville years ago. They came to Glenwood Springs in a truck, scooped up bikes all over town, painted them and sold them in a flea market in Denver.



However, no charges have been filed against anyone in this case because no victims have yet claimed any of this property, said Wilson.

This time around, officers are entering into a statewide database the serial numbers they can find on these bikes and pieces.

People often don’t report it when their bike has been stolen, he said. And it can be difficult to connect people back to their stolen property if they don’t keep the item’s serial number.

Wilson recommends recording the serials numbers of your bike or any other of your serialized property that might be stolen, such as firearms or big-screen TVs. Also, take photos of these items, he urged.

Those two little steps can go a long way toward improving the odds that police can connect you to your stolen property, said Wilson.

To see more photos of the recovered bikes and parts visit glenwoodpolice.com/bicycle-thefts-2016-14507/.

Call 970-384-6500 if you have information in this case, or submit a tip on glenwoodpolice.com/crime-tips/.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.