Bike shop burglar busted in Gateway

Perhaps not content with simply stealing bicycles from outer East Portland homes and schools, see where this thief tried to pull off a major heist …

Here in the Gateway neighborhood business district, this Hazelwood neighborhood bike shop  is the target of a smash-and-grab bike burglar.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

A commercial business alarm activated at the Outer Rim Bicycle Shop, at 10625 NE Halsey Street, was what brought Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officers to the location at 3:31 a.m. on September 12.

When officers arrived, they found one of the store windows smashed, and went inside looking for the burglar. “While officers searched the interior of the business, additional officers canvassed the neighborhood and searched for the suspect,” said PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Chris Burley.

Officers search the area, looking for the bicycle purloiner.

While searching the area, an officer spotted two brand-new bicycles hidden in bushes just south of the store; one still had an Outer Rim Bicycle price tag attached to it.

“The officers collected the bicycles, so they could be returned to the bicycle shop owner,” Burley reported. “As officers remained in the area, they contacted a man that was associated with a vehicle that was parked near the recovered bicycles.”

An officer recovers two new bikes, one still with the store’s tag on the handlebars. PPB photo

“Based on information learned during the investigation, including observations from viewing surveillance video, the man was arrested,” Burley said.

Now in jail, awaiting trial on a variety of charges, is 34-year-old Derek Brandon Conley. MCDC booking photo
34-year-old Derek Brandon Conley was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) at 8:09 a.m. later that morning on charges of Burglary in the Second Degree (two counts), Theft in the First Degree (two counts), and Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree.

After being arraigned before a Multnomah County Court judge, Conley was ordered to stand trial, and combined bail was set at $25,500. However, that is somewhat irrelevant, since he is also being held in Inverness Jail without bail on the charge of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, a Class C Felony.

© 2017 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News

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