Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Citizen repossesses stolen bike in Ocean Beach

Fight ensues after homeless people try and keep it

Michelle's bike
Michelle's bike

Ocean Beach resident Michelle had her third bike stolen on September 9. Three days later, her boyfriend Jay found it. But he had to fight to get it back.

At about 8:30 a.m. on September 12, Jay was walking two of his vacationing neighbor's dogs. He lives on Muir and was strolling on the Brighton Park grass when he noticed his girlfriend's bike lying in the bushes, partially covered up with a blanket and with some clothes in the front basket. Several homeless people were nearby. He picked up the bike, took out the clothes, and started to walk away with it. That's when the trouble started.

Two of the homeless, a man and a woman, started yelling at him, asking him what he thought he was doing. He told them it was his girlfriend’s bike and that he was taking it back. The woman started spitting on him and kicking him. At that point, Jay said about nine homeless people came over and started saying, “Why are you taking their bike? They’re homeless, you’re not.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

By then, 6’5”, 280-pound Jay said he was holding on to Michelle’s bike, the two dogs, and allowing the barrage of kicks and spitting to continue; he said he wasn’t fighting back. At some point during the melée, the homeless woman who had been spitting on him asked Jay to give her $100 for the bike...and quickly lowered the price to $75.

Jay said there were several Parks and Recreation people watching, along with some people in their motor homes. He shouted out for someone to call the police and someone did.

The police arrived and Jay said they were somewhat unhappy to hear that he didn’t call them before the conflict escalated. He told them he didn’t have a hand free to do that.

According to Jay, the homeless woman, who was very small, was telling police that she was assaulted by him. A man in the parking lot said he videotaped the altercation and offered it to the police, but they said they didn’t need it.

The police then asked Jay if he had a serial number for the bike. He responded by saying he had pictures of the bike and that he could unlock the lock in the basket. He then unlocked it.

According to Jay, the police then told the homeless to leave O.B. No arrests were made and everyone moved on.

Reader poll

Have you ever had your bike stolen?

  • Yes — but I got it back 11%
  • Yes — and it was never recovered 66%
  • No 21%
  • I've never owned a bike 2%

94 total votes.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Yo-Yo Ma, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky come to San Diego

Michelle's bike
Michelle's bike

Ocean Beach resident Michelle had her third bike stolen on September 9. Three days later, her boyfriend Jay found it. But he had to fight to get it back.

At about 8:30 a.m. on September 12, Jay was walking two of his vacationing neighbor's dogs. He lives on Muir and was strolling on the Brighton Park grass when he noticed his girlfriend's bike lying in the bushes, partially covered up with a blanket and with some clothes in the front basket. Several homeless people were nearby. He picked up the bike, took out the clothes, and started to walk away with it. That's when the trouble started.

Two of the homeless, a man and a woman, started yelling at him, asking him what he thought he was doing. He told them it was his girlfriend’s bike and that he was taking it back. The woman started spitting on him and kicking him. At that point, Jay said about nine homeless people came over and started saying, “Why are you taking their bike? They’re homeless, you’re not.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

By then, 6’5”, 280-pound Jay said he was holding on to Michelle’s bike, the two dogs, and allowing the barrage of kicks and spitting to continue; he said he wasn’t fighting back. At some point during the melée, the homeless woman who had been spitting on him asked Jay to give her $100 for the bike...and quickly lowered the price to $75.

Jay said there were several Parks and Recreation people watching, along with some people in their motor homes. He shouted out for someone to call the police and someone did.

The police arrived and Jay said they were somewhat unhappy to hear that he didn’t call them before the conflict escalated. He told them he didn’t have a hand free to do that.

According to Jay, the homeless woman, who was very small, was telling police that she was assaulted by him. A man in the parking lot said he videotaped the altercation and offered it to the police, but they said they didn’t need it.

The police then asked Jay if he had a serial number for the bike. He responded by saying he had pictures of the bike and that he could unlock the lock in the basket. He then unlocked it.

According to Jay, the police then told the homeless to leave O.B. No arrests were made and everyone moved on.

Reader poll

Have you ever had your bike stolen?

  • Yes — but I got it back 11%
  • Yes — and it was never recovered 66%
  • No 21%
  • I've never owned a bike 2%

94 total votes.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Next Article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.