Collingswood Police Investigating Bike Thefts

Collingswood Police reported a trio of bicycle thefts in the borough in the past several months, the results of a burglary to a shed on Crestmont Terrace, another to the Collings-Knight House, and a third that occurred at the high school.

The first occurred at 3 p.m. on October 23, when police were dispatched to Collingswood High School for a report of a bicycle theft. 

The victim, a student, had ridden his bike to school and locked it on a bike rack at the fence. At the end of the day, police said, he noticed that the bike was missing and his bike lock was hanging from the fence.

Surveillance video showed two juveniles approach the bicycle, loiter around it for a period of time, and take the bike for a ride down Eldridge Avenue, police said. The victim identified one of the suspects as a Collingswood High School student, who admitted to police that he'd taken the bicycle. 

The suspects, both 14, of Collingswood and Woodlynne, were arrested and charged with theft, and were released into the custody of their parents. The school is also taking disciplinary action against them. Their names were not reported because of their juvenile status.

Police had less luck tracking down the alleged perpetrators in another pair of incidents October 1 and October 5.

In the first of these, a woman’s 27-inch Schwinn Spirit bicycle, valued at $200, was stolen from caretakers residing at the Collings-Knight House in Knight Park.

Then, on October 5, police investigated a found burglary in the unit block of Crestmont Terrace. 

A resident said the shed in the rear of the residence was unsecured because its lock was inoperable; she also discovered that its side panel had been removed and was lying on the ground. 

Stolen from within were a Black Mongoose valued at $300 and a Blue Huffy mountain bike valued at $200. 

All information provided by Collingswood Police. An arrest is not a conviction.