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Photo shopped – background of Gumtree pic helps police collar bike thiefWheel from stolen bike © Simon MacMichael.JPG

Photo shopped – background of Gumtree pic helps police collar bike thief

Officers recognised interior of Craig Evans' home in picture posted to classified ads website...
by Simon_MacMichael
Thu, Feb 05, 2015 12:59
6

A bike thief from Middlesbrough was collared by police after officers recognised the interior of his home from the background of photographs posted on the website Gumtree.

Craig Evans, aged 31, stole bikes worth thousands of pounds from towns in North Yorkshire during a three-week spree last summer, choosing the location due to its popularity with cyclists.

He targeted bicycles left unlocked outside cafes in Stokesley and Great Ayton and, in one instance, one propped up on a park bench that its owner was sitting on at the time.

According to the Darlington & Stockton Times, Evans, a carpet fitter, admitted handling one stolen bike and stealing three others after police discovered his DNA on a water bottle that was with one of the bikes.

On Tuesday, he was jailed for 18 weeks at Northallerton Magistrates’ Court.

PC Alastair Gill, of Stokesley Police, said: "This case shows that we will not tolerate travelling criminals coming into North Yorkshire intent on committing crime, and ruining local residents' quality of life.

“If they do, be in no doubt, they will be pursued, identified and arrested."

North Yorkshire Police
Gumtree
Craig Evans
bicycle theft
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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6 comments

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SNS1938 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Fantastic. I'm sick of people committing crimes and then getting some light sentence. You can bet that he had stolen more than four bikes before that he wasn't caught for.

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sneakerfrfeak | 9 years ago
0 likes

I hope they use his ass as a playground.

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kie7077 replied to sneakerfrfeak | 9 years ago
0 likes
sneakerfrfeak wrote:

I hope they use his ass as a playground.

Stealing bikes isn't ok, but rape is! You just lowered yourself to lower than the criminal in my eyes.

Avatar
KirinChris | 9 years ago
0 likes

If the guy showed the same amount of initiative and effort in working he wouldn't need to steal bikes.

Hope gets put in a cell with some CTC lags - the things they do with tea cakes will put the fear of God into him.

18 weeks seems low for a repeat offender though, as the original report makes clear. I thougt multiple offences got you some serious time.

And he must be a regular if the fuzz recognise his flock wallpaper.

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notfastenough | 9 years ago
0 likes

If you're sufficiently 'known' to Police that they recognise your house in web pics of a robbed bike, it's probably time to find a new career.

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3mkru73 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Great to see a proactive approach by the already busy bobbies.

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