5 Dirt Bikes Plucked From Palos Shed Turn Up In Cicero Storage Unit

PALOS HEIGHTS, IL — Five dirt bikes plucked from a backyard shed in Palos Heights were recovered by police in a Cicero storage unit, reports said. The bikes were believed to have been stolen sometime during the overnight hours of Jan. 4.

Palos Heights police went to a home in the West Old Town subdivision around 11:17 a.m. for a delayed burglary report. One of the homeowners said she observed the backyard shed door open right before calling police. She also observed tire tracks in grass leading through the backyard to 125th Street, where the tracks ended.

Her husband, who was out of town for the weekend, told police he went to bed around 12:45 a.m., which is also when he turned off the interior lights. He observed that the shed door was closed when he left town that morning.

Palos Heights put out a critical reach alert to area police numbers for the stolen bikes, including three Honda CRF models, along with Yamaha and Kawasaki models.

The homeowner also posted the stolen dirt bikes on social media, when Palos Heights police began receiving tips from anonymous tipsters that bikes were at a storage space in Cicero.

“We got a search warrant that led detectives to the storage unit where one bike was recovered,” said Assistant Commander John Parnitzke, of the Palos Heights Police Department. “We went back the next day when the suspect was there and recovered three more bikes. After speaking to another individual, the fifth bike was returned to police.”

No charges were fired against the young adults, who had no real criminal history. The homeowners just wanted the dirt bikes returned, Parnitzke said.