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Darwinian lesson in bicycle thievery

A 14-year-old student at Sonoma Valley High School rode his green and black Giant Revel mountain bike to the Safeway store about 3 p.m. on Dec. 13, left it parked unlocked, with his helmet attached, at the northeast corner of the building, and went inside.

When he returned, the bike and helmet were gone, a sad lesson, perhaps, that an unlocked bike is a stolen bike. But the youthful victim nevertheless put together a flyer advertising the missing Giant and took copies to school the next morning.

By coincidence, another student with concerns about the security of his bicycle took a Giant Revel mountain bike into the high school office a little earlier the same morning, explained that he had forgotten his lock and asked to leave the bike in the office for safe-keeping. Shortly afterward the owner of the stolen bike took his flyers into the school office to ask if he could post them around campus.

To his surprise, his stolen bike was parked right there in the school office. The boy’s father was called to produce the serial number, which matched the numbers on the bike in the office.

When the now-suspect was brought to the office and questioned by the school resource officer, he said he had “found” the bike behind Safeway, thought it was “a nice bicycle,” got on it and rode away.

The 16-year-old was cited for misappropriation of lost property and a report was forwarded to the city prosecutor.

In other incidents reported to local law enforcement:

Tuesday, Nov. 22:

9:58 p.m. – Probation plus drugs plus stolen property plus jail. While on patrol in the 1000 block of Broadway, an alert Sheriff’s deputy observed a vehicle drive away from a business and then pull into a parking space in the 1200 block of Broadway. The curious deputy initiated a chat with the driver, discovered that the motorist was on probation for burglary and therefore conducted a search. The search turned up a syringe in the man’s left front pocket, some methadone pills, a drill and a mini-flashlight that could be considered burglary tools, and a Sonoma County key ring.

The deputy charged Frederick Eberhardt, 46, of Sonoma, with felony possession of a controlled substance, felony possession of stolen property, possession of a syringe, possession of burglary tools and a probation violation. Eberhardt received the requisite ride to the county jail.

Sunday, Dec. 4:

2:55 a.m. – Stood-up and stealing. A resident in the 900 block of Lark Avenue was awakened by the sound of her car alarm going off. The woman went out to investigate and found that someone had broken a car window with a rock and made off with her purse that contained an iPod, driver’s license and credit cards. Four 15-year-old juveniles were arrested for the crime on Monday, Dec. 12, after one of them had been bragging about the robbery. The four were students at Hanna Boys Center, and as soon as a Hanna staff member talked with them about their story, he notified the sheriff’s office.

When deputies interviewed them, they learned the boys had stuffed their beds with pillows and blankets to resemble bodies, and then snuck out to meet some girls. But after the girls stood up the expectant teens, the four shifted their focus to neighborhood cars.

According to a crime report, the teens got into 15-to-20 vehicles, all of which were unlocked save the one where they broke the window. Once inside the cars, the four reportedly grabbed things such as change, sunglasses and anything else they could find, but the only victim of theft who reported it was the woman whose car window was broken.

Three of the 15-year-olds were charged with felony burglary and felony possession of stolen goods. The fourth 15-year-old was charged with felony possession of stolen property. All were taken to juvenile hall.

11:29 a.m. – Vodka versus tennis. Deputies responded to Maxwell Farms Regional Park after receiving a report that an intoxicated man was harassing tennis players. When deputies arrived, they found the inebriated tennis critic sitting on a bench grasping a half-empty bottle of vodka. The 35-year-old Sonoma man was charged with public intoxication.

Monday, Dec. 5:

6:14 p.m. – Close encounter of the worst kind. A resident in the 300 block of Arroyo Road who walked in on a residential burglary, fled the residence and called the sheriff’s office. By the time deputies arrived, the three burglars had departed the residence. The trio had apparently been in the house for a while as the place had been ransacked, but the victim reported the only things missing were credit cards from her purse.

Wednesday, Dec. 7:

10:35 p.m. – Where’s Gary? Deputies responded to a call from the 200 block of Specht Road reporting that five or six individuals had pulled up to a residence and exited a truck with what could have been a rifle or a baseball bat. A woman at the residence shouted at the group and one person shouted back wanting to know if a person named Gary was there, but then got back into the truck and left the area before deputies arrived.

Thursday, Dec. 8:

9:07 a.m. – Highly mobile 32-inch flat screen. A resident in the 800 block of Indian Lane reported that someone had entered their unlocked car, punched the ignition but couldn’t get the car started. The thief then departed with a 32-inch TV and a Playstation that had been left in the car.

Friday, Dec. 9:

4:04 p.m. – No Medicare for me. A resident in the 60 block of International Boulevard reported that she was notified that Medicare had received her application. But since the woman had never filed for Medicare, she wanted to report the incident.

5:36 p.m. – Two-time loser. A resident in the 3000 block of Warm Springs Road reported that on Dec. 4, someone had entered a kitchen sliding door and stolen some jewelry from the home. For an unknown reason, no report was filed that day. When she returned home on the 9th, she discovered a living room sliding door was ajar and that more jewelry was missing. The loss was estimated at $600 to $700.

Saturday, Dec. 10:

1:53 p.m. – As easy as falling off a bicycle. Deputies responded to a call in the 18000 block of Railroad Avenue about an intoxicated bicyclist who had fallen off her bike. Deputies found the fallen peddler pushing her bike and arrested the 58-year-old woman on charges of public intoxication.

Monday, Dec. 12:

8:40 p.m. – Door unlocked, laptop gone. A resident in the 1000 block of Grove Street reported that she had left her residence unlocked at about 8:15 a.m. that day and when she returned at 8:30 p.m., a $1,400 MacBook was missing.