In recent weeks, the Santa Rosa Police Department has partnered with the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition in an effort to combat the issue of bicycle theft in our community. Through a generous donation by partners of the Bicycle Coalition, the Santa Rosa Police Department was able to obtain a bicycle valued at over $1000 to be used in “bait bike” operations.
On Wednesday, December 10th, 2014, officers and detectives from the Santa Rosa Police Department Downtown Enforcement Team and Property Crimes Investigations Team conducted a “bait bike” operation in several locations downtown. During this operation, the donated bicycle was placed in a location and then surveyed by a team of undercover detectives. A team of uniformed officers waited nearby in the event that the bicycle was stolen in order to make a quick apprehension of the person(s) responsible.
At about 1130 hours, the bait bicycle had be placed in a location downtown and locked to a fence by detectives and was under surveillance when it was approached by two male suspects. The two men worked together, cut the cable lock with which the bike had been secured, and stole the “bait bike,” leaving the area with it. The two suspects were contacted by a team of uniformed officers as they rode away with the bike, and were arrested without incident.
The two men arrested during this operation were identified as Nick Ruiz, 38 years old of Santa Rosa and Elijah Reed, 22 years old of Santa Rosa. In addition to the felony grand theft and conspiracy charges for this case, Ruiz was also arrested for a violation of his probation for drug possession. In addition to the felony grand theft and conspiracy charges for this case, Reed was also arrested for a violation of his probation for restricting/obstructing a police officer.
The Santa Rosa Police Department and Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition will continue to work together in efforts to prevent bicycle theft and also to identify and apprehend bicycle thieves. Information about how you can prevent bicycle theft can be found on the website of the Sonoma County Bicycle coalition at www.bikesonoma.org.
Media inquiries regarding this incident should be directed to Sergeant Brad Conners at (707) 543-3639 or bconners@srcity.org.
