An 18-year-old Evanston man was arrested for bike theft after police noticed him riding alone on a tandem bicycle.
The bike matched the description of one that had just been reported stolen late Friday afternoon from a garage in the 2200 block of Noyes Street.
The victim of the theft said he’d been cleaning out the garage and had left the door open, although two vehicles were blocking the entrance.
When he returned to the garage after taking an hour-long break, he discovered the bike — a vintage Schwinn two-speed tandem bicyle — missing. And, he noticed new scratches on the cars — that appeared to show someone had tried to slide an item between them.
About four minutes after officers at the theft scene put a description of the bike on the police radio, two officers in the area of Church Street and Dodge Avenue spotted Blake J. Ross, 18, of 2320 Greenwood St., riding alone on a tandem bike there that matched the description of the stolen one.
Police say Ross claimed that he’d just purchased the bike at a nearby park, but couldn’t provide any proof of the purchase.
The victim of the theft later said the recovered bike was the one taken from his garage.
Ross has been charged with one misdemeanor count of theft and is scheduled to appear in Skokie district court at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 13.