SARASOTA, Fla. — Two Sarasota teenagers have been arrested in connection with a string of recent electric bike thefts.
Authorities said the thefts are part of a growing trend of stolen e-bikes and dirt bikes sold through online marketplaces.
Sarasota police detectives recovered at least one stolen electric bike while conducting this undercover operation this week. They say at least five e-bikes have been reported stolen in the same manner, as unscrupulous individuals pose as buyers on social media marketplaces looking to dupe unsuspecting sellers.
"People are going to take these dirt bikes, electric bikes by schools for a test drive during the transaction in the meetup and they never returned with the property, so what we are seeing is that then that property is re-listed on the same site," Cynthia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Sarasota Police Department, said.
McLaughlin said detectives conducted the undercover operation in the 2700 block of Cocoanut Avenue.
They posed as buyers to recover a stolen e-bike that the two teenagers were trying to sell. One of the bikes they were trying to sell fit the description of an e-bike that had recently been reported as stolen by someone the seller believed was a potential buyer.
Police attempted to arrest the teenagers after they made contact.
"They tried to run away and in this brief foot pursuit one of the juveniles threw a firearm into Whitaker Bayou so at that point, we called in our dive teams and we were able to recover the firearm," McLaughlin said.
That firearm had previously been reported stolen in Pasco County, and now authorities are looking to see if it has been used in any other crime.
"We don't know the exact details yet as to when and where it was listed as stolen, but it did have a 24-round magazine with a red dot in it," McLaughlin added.
Police say along with the growing trend of e-bike thefts through social media marketplaces, e-bikes in general are catching the eyes of thieves. One e-bike retailer in Downtown Sarasota knows a first-hand experience of that all too well after his daughter's bike was stolen while she was in Sarasota County.
"What the crook did is he took like a hot wire, he melted the plastic, got the chain links open and then he chopped it with some bolt cutters," Derek Anderson, owner of Crank & Paddle Bikes in Sarasota, said.
Anderson has now gotten quality locks and recommends e-bike owners do the same.
"You always want to lock up your back wheel motor to your frame and then both of those to your bike rack or post or wherever you are tying off to. That's really important," he said.
Police are reminding folks selling and buying online to do business in safe locations like at the police station or in a public area with enough surveillance cameras.
They also urge people to follow basic tips on how to conduct safer transactions like bringing a friend, meeting during the day, and if a sale involves a test drive, holding onto something of value like the buyer's car or house keys and a driver's license.
They also say to make sure your bike is registered on 'Bike Index' so it's traceable if stolen, and potential buyers can look up a bike to make sure they are not purchasing a stolen item.
The two teens will be charged as adults.