Craigslist ad leads police to alleged bike thieves

BELLINGHAM — Two Bellingham men were arrested Thursday, May 7, after police discovered the pair had been stealing bicycles and selling them on Craigslist.

The investigation began when a woman, whose mountain bike had been stolen, told Bellingham Police she thought she saw the bicycle for sale on Craigslist, said Mark Young, police spokesman. An officer went to the Web site, tracked down the listing and saw the bike being offered for $1,500. The ad included a picture that matched the description of the woman’s bicycle, Young said.

The police officer called the phone number provided in the listing and set up a time with the seller to buy the bike.

The officer drove an unmarked patrol car to a local shopping center where he met Jeremy Randall Schuitema, 22, who came to the meeting riding the bike, Young said. The officer checked the serial number, which matched that of the woman’s missing mountain bike.

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Schuitema was arrested. Further investigation led police to take David Jordan McDonough, 19, into custody as well, Young said. The pair eventually led police to their apartment where five other stolen bikes were found. All of the bikes were impounded as evidence.

The bikes had been stolen from a variety of locations, including a fenced backyard on Nevada Street and the bicycle rack at the Community Food Co-op on Forest Street, Young said.

Police do not know how long the pair had been running the operation or how much money had been made.

Schuitema and McDonough were booked into Whatcom County Jail for investigation of two counts of first-degree possession of stolen property, four counts of second-degree possession of stolen property and first-degree trafficking of stolen property.

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