Photo by ep_jhu.

Bike theft in D.C. has always been a big problem, but when summer crests and more people are out and about on two wheels, it feels like the thieves start getting braver. Well, one Bloomingdale resident wasn’t about to let one teenager get away with walking into his neighbor’s yard and swiping a bike yesterday afternoon.

Marcus Menard shared the following story with the Metropolitan Police Department’s Fifth District listserv this morning:

Friday evening, around 5:00 p.m., I was on my second-story balcony and noticed a young black male walking through the alley. He ventured into the backyard of my neighbor on the 100 block of W St NW and walked up to their back porch and picked up a bike. Since he hadn’t had a bike with him when he arrived, I surmised the bike he was walking off with was not his. I yelled at him and told him to put the bike back, he looked up at me and smiled. I yelled at him again and he said, “F*** you”. He took off on the bike and I went after him. I caught him on the 1700 block of Flagler NW. When I caught up with him, he dropped the bike. I picked up the bike and also the bag he dropped. Oddly enough, he didn’t run away even as we (me and the neighbors on Flagler who were sitting on their porches) told him we were calling the police. He called someone on his cell phone and told the person on the other end, “They have my bag”. He then started asking for his bag–even saying please. When I was on the phone with the police they told me to look into the bag and there was a nice pair of bolt cutters inside. Still, the kid did not run away despite no one restraining him. The police arrived and took him into custody. I received a call from the officer later today saying that he had been released to his parents. The reason for this message is to let everyone know that thefts are occurring even in broad daylight, the perpetrators are bold and brazen, and are pretty young. This kid told me he was 12! And, now he’s back out on the streets. Be vigilant and secure your property well!

That’s some tale. In response to the email, 5D Commander Andy Solberg confirmed Menard’s version of events, and applauded Menard’s reaction. “There’s community involvement, and then there’s running out of your house and chasing barefoot after a young thief on a bike,” Solberg said.

Of course, there’s always the possibility of a situation like this going very sour, and Solberg addressed that. “I am not encouraging all residents to adopt this approach should you witness a crime in progress,” the Commander wrote.