The suspect in dozens of bike thefts from the city of Davis and the UC Davis campus last fall has been charged with grand theft and possession of stolen property.
Matthew Brazelton, 32, pleaded not guilty to the felony counts at his Feb. 11 arraignment. He also has two unrelated cases charging him with petty theft, drug possession and driving with a suspended license, according to Yolo Superior Court records.
Meanwhile, Davis police have identified the owners of about half of the 69 bikes Brazelton allegedly stole between Sept. 3 and Nov. 23, 2014, then sold to Sacramento-area pawn shops, where they were discovered by a Sacramento County sheriff’s detective in December.
Local police seized the bikes — some valued at well over $1,000 — with the hope of returning them to their rightful owners and building their case against Brazelton, as authorities can only file charges in cases where a victim has been identified. So far, about 35 of the bikes have been claimed, according to Davis police Sgt. Mike Munoz.
“The great majority of the people who got their bikes back recorded their serial numbers,” said Munoz, who also urges bike owners to license and register their bikes with UCD’s Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS).
Bike-theft victims can still file reports either at the Davis police station, 2600 Fifth St., or online at police.cityofdavis.org/online-crime-reporting. The reports should be as detailed as possible in describing the stolen bikes.
Those that go unclaimed must by law be returned to the pawn shops where they were seized.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene