JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Brazen thieves were caught on camera backing a stolen shuttle bus into a Jefferson County bike shop and making off with more than $13,000 in bikes.
It happened Sunday at BikeSource at West Bowles Avenue and South Wadsworth Boulevard.
It only took the thieves about two minutes to cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage.
“When they hit the building, you can see on one of the cameras that the bikes in the back of the store were shaking,” said Mike Hernandez, manager of the store.
The thieves are seen on store surveillance cameras running through the store. They immediately head to the back where some of the most expensive bike are located.
“We had them locked with cables. He realizes they’re all locked together and keeps looking,” said Hernandez.
Another one of the thieves is also thwarted and is seen in the video tossing a bike to the ground in disgust.
“It totally foiled their plan. I was really impressed,” said Hernandez.
Rather than give up, the trio leaves with a handful of bikes also locked together. Those bikes were worth about $13,000.
For Eric Francis, the video of the BikeSource thefts were hard to watch. His store, Pedal Pushers Cyclery in Golden, was broken into twice last year.
“I have many nights where I don’t sleep well when I hear my phone vibrate in the middle of the night. The first thing I assume is someone is breaking into my store again,” Francis said. “We live on the edge everyday of just wondering when the next break-in is going to be.”
“It’s all been the same thing. It’s all been stolen vehicles. It’s all been three guys. It’s all been about 2-3 in the morning,” added Hernandez.
Store owners are now beefing up security. Francis has spent about $6,000 on security upgrades.
About a dozen bike shops have been targeted by thieves over the past couple of years in the Denver metro.
Many say they are just waiting for the thieves to strike again. If history is any indication, they will. It’s just a matter of when.
“I’m assuming it will happen next year, but you can only do what you can do,” said Hernandez.