http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/11/30/news/coastal/4_03_5311_29_07.txt
Sheriff's detectives recover stolen high-dollar bikes
By: PHILIP K. IRELAND - Staff Writer
VISTA ---- Sheriff's detectives arrested five people Thursday on a variety of charges and recovered several high-end mountain bikes that were stolen in September from a Vista bicycle manufacturer, authorities said.
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Detectives discovered eight of the bikes ---- valued at between $900 and $5,000 each ---- in side-by-side storage units in the 200 block of Huff Street in Vista. They also found tools commonly used by burglars, said San Diego sheriff's Detective Jason Vickery.
Earlier in the day, authorities searched a home in the 500 block of Mar Vista Drive, where they recovered a ninth stolen bike, as well as materials and chemicals commonly used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, Vickery said.
Detectives also found a significant quantity of copper wiring and pipes that Vickery said may have been stolen for its recycle value.
Jason Tyler Pickett, 38, and Mark Alan Leidle, 46, both residents of the Mar Vista home, were arrested in connection with the bike thefts, said Vickery, who led the investigation.
Picket, Leidle and three others at the home during the early morning raid also face drug charges, according to sheriff's Sgt. Art Wager. The suspects were identified as Leidle's son, Mark Matthew Leidle, 18; Leidle's wife, Christine Leidle, 48; and Russell Ericson, 25.
The chemicals and materials discovered at the house posed no risk to neighbors or agents, said Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman Eileen Zeidler. The quantities of chemicals seized were small, and authorities do not believe the suspects are connected to a larger drug manufacturing organization.
Authorities say the nine bikes were among 30 stolen from a trailer parked behind Haro Bikes in late September.
The wholesale value of all 30 bikes is about $50,000, said Jill Hamilton, a spokeswoman for Haro Bikes. Hamilton came to the Emerald At 78 Storage facility and identified the eight bikes found there as among those taken in September.
Hamilton said she and other company employees had taken the 30 bikes in a company trailer to a Las Vegas trade show, returning to Vista on Sept. 29. They parked the trailer in the rear of the building in the 1200 block of Avenida Chelsea, but the bikes were gone when they returned to work Oct. 1.
Vickery said security videotapes were among the methods used to identify suspects.
Hamilton said the company used the bikes as demonstration models, and the theft limited their ability to let potential customers sample the bikes before purchase. Hamilton said she was happy to have at least some of the bikes back.
Authorities are still seeking leads on more than 20 bikes that are still missing. Wager said the investigation continues.
Contact staff writer Philip K. Ireland at (760) 901-4043 or pireland@nctimes.com.
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Jill, I could use a blemmed and previously stolen medim sized Sonix LT frameset..
...but seriously, yea..
Sheriff's detectives recover stolen high-dollar bikes
By: PHILIP K. IRELAND - Staff Writer
VISTA ---- Sheriff's detectives arrested five people Thursday on a variety of charges and recovered several high-end mountain bikes that were stolen in September from a Vista bicycle manufacturer, authorities said.
View A Video
Detectives discovered eight of the bikes ---- valued at between $900 and $5,000 each ---- in side-by-side storage units in the 200 block of Huff Street in Vista. They also found tools commonly used by burglars, said San Diego sheriff's Detective Jason Vickery.
Earlier in the day, authorities searched a home in the 500 block of Mar Vista Drive, where they recovered a ninth stolen bike, as well as materials and chemicals commonly used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, Vickery said.
Detectives also found a significant quantity of copper wiring and pipes that Vickery said may have been stolen for its recycle value.
Jason Tyler Pickett, 38, and Mark Alan Leidle, 46, both residents of the Mar Vista home, were arrested in connection with the bike thefts, said Vickery, who led the investigation.
Picket, Leidle and three others at the home during the early morning raid also face drug charges, according to sheriff's Sgt. Art Wager. The suspects were identified as Leidle's son, Mark Matthew Leidle, 18; Leidle's wife, Christine Leidle, 48; and Russell Ericson, 25.
The chemicals and materials discovered at the house posed no risk to neighbors or agents, said Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman Eileen Zeidler. The quantities of chemicals seized were small, and authorities do not believe the suspects are connected to a larger drug manufacturing organization.
Authorities say the nine bikes were among 30 stolen from a trailer parked behind Haro Bikes in late September.
The wholesale value of all 30 bikes is about $50,000, said Jill Hamilton, a spokeswoman for Haro Bikes. Hamilton came to the Emerald At 78 Storage facility and identified the eight bikes found there as among those taken in September.
Hamilton said she and other company employees had taken the 30 bikes in a company trailer to a Las Vegas trade show, returning to Vista on Sept. 29. They parked the trailer in the rear of the building in the 1200 block of Avenida Chelsea, but the bikes were gone when they returned to work Oct. 1.
Vickery said security videotapes were among the methods used to identify suspects.
Hamilton said the company used the bikes as demonstration models, and the theft limited their ability to let potential customers sample the bikes before purchase. Hamilton said she was happy to have at least some of the bikes back.
Authorities are still seeking leads on more than 20 bikes that are still missing. Wager said the investigation continues.
Contact staff writer Philip K. Ireland at (760) 901-4043 or pireland@nctimes.com.
===========================================
Jill, I could use a blemmed and previously stolen medim sized Sonix LT frameset..
...but seriously, yea..
