Danny Lesh freely admits to stealing a bicycle–back from the thief who stole it from him.
NBC Washington (“Vigilante Bicyclist Gets His Stolen Bike Back“):
Danny Lesh is an avid cyclist — and now he’s also somewhat of a vigilante, after he found his stolen bike online and managed to get it back.
Lesh’s Cannondale hybrid was stolen after he loaned it to a friend who’d secured it with a cable lock, which are easy to cut if you’re a theft with a pair of boltcutters handy.
But Lesh located the bike on Craiglist shortly after last weekend’s theft — his bike had a prominent sticker on it, so he was certain it was his.
The ad asked for $100, and Lesh called the police, who told him they wouldn’t be able to respond right away. But Lesh, who’d paid $600 for it back in 1998, wasn’t about to let someone else end up with his bike.
“I knew I had to do it that day, or else I’d never see the bike again,” he said.
He arranged to buy his bike back. A man came out of an alley at 5th and Longfellow streets NW with the bike, and Lesh took it for a “test ride.”
Lesh simply rode off without paying.
“This guy finally started calling me, and left a message saying he was going to call the police,” Lesh said, laughing.
When Lesh got home, he put up his own post on Craigslist, warning other site users about the thief, saying high-end bikes listed for low prices could be stolen.
Apparently, WUSA9 reports (“Victim Found Stolen Bike On Craigslist Ad“), Lesh had an accomplice.
The two agreed to meet at 5th and Longfellow streets on Monday afternoon. Lesh hopped a cab to meet the seller. At first, they negotiated a price, then Lesh took it for a test ride.
The taxi driver, who had been a victim of theft himself, wanted to help out, so he was waiting for Lesh just down the street while Lesh was taking the bike for a spin.
“I got about four blocks away,” Lesh said. “The taxi pulled up behind me. I put my bike in the trunk of the taxi. We were on the other side of town when the thief called my cell phone asking me where it was. I didn’t answer so he left a message threatening that he was going to call the police on me.”
I really hope this was in fact his bike.
Amusingly, Lesh is an organizer recruiter for SEIU, which will be very confusing for conservatives cheering on his little bit of vigilantism.
