West Florida News

From March 25, 2023 Post.

UPDATE #2: ELECTRONIC BICYCLE THEFT

DeSoto County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigative Division (CID) has been busy, working hard all week with neighboring jurisdictions to identify additional suspects, recovering as many stolen e-bikes as possible!

Today, with the assistance of the Wauchula Police Department and Hardee County Sheriff's Office, a search warrant was conducted, and 5 e-bikes were recovered intact. Sheriff Potter is proud of all the detectives involved, as we have had the opportunity to return two e-bikes back to the rightful owners so far!

Of the 5 bikes, 2 were reported stolen in the city of Arcadia to the Arcadia Police Department, and APD officers will return those to the owners as well.

Although some have their property back, this investigation IS still ONGOING. We hope to recover more e-bikes and make additional arrests soon, so stay tuned!

For those that aren’t familiar, an e-bike is an electric motor assisted bicycle which have become quite popular lately. E-bikes range from $800 to several thousand dollars each. If you own an e-bike, please make sure to take photos of it and document your brand (Lectric, Sunseeker, Nakto, etc.) and serial number in the unfortunate event it is ever stolen. Please secure your bikes with a bike lock, chain or in a shed if possible.

As always, DeSoto, if you see something, say something!  You can report tips on our website or through our app.

**(Please refer to last two photos in post) We have ONE New Yorker brand e-bike we are still searching for more information on! If you know who owns this bike, please contact Detective Santana or DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office at 863-993-4700.

Original source can be found here.