University Police arrested a Gainesville man Sunday evening for reportedly stealing a bike and violating a campus trespass warning.
At about 6 p.m., Curtis Crawford, 50, of 1900 SE Fourth St., was found riding a white bicycle north on Buckman Drive, according to a police report. Police stopped him for violation of an October trespass warning from UF’s campus.
Crawford reportedly stole a $400 Motobecane Hybrid Adventure Elite bicycle from a bike rack outside Marston Science Library. UF mechanical engineering sophomore Kent Meredith, 20, parked the bike at about 3 p.m. while working on a project in the basement. He said he didn’t notice it was missing until about 8:30 p.m.
“My first thought was, ‘There’s no way my bike actually got stolen,’” Meredith said. “You hear about stuff like this happening, but you never think it would happen to you.”
He searched all the bike racks near Marston, Turlington and the Music Building before reporting the theft to the police just before 10 p.m.
Meredith said he didn’t think he would get the bike back because it was not registered with University Police. Despite that, he was called before finishing his 30-minute walk home from the police station. His bike had been found.
“Honestly, I was shocked at how fortunate I had been — beyond thrilled,” he said.
Police searched Crawford after his arrest and found wire cutters and bolt cutters in his bag, according to the report. Police also found a black combination cable lock in the bushes on the side of the road, UPD spokesman Maj. Brad Barber wrote in an email.
Police arrested Crawford on charges of theft, loitering, trespassing and possession of burglary tools.
Officers took him to the Alachua County Jail, where he remained as of press time in lieu of a $25,000 bond.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 2/10/2015 under the headline “Stolen bike found by UPD before owner notices it’s missing"]
