The crew that broke into Cenna Custom Cycles in Longmont one night in November 2019 were cunning, practiced and efficient. They used landscaping rocks to break the front window of the business, entered quickly and made off with six expensive mountain bikes in less than a minute.
“You could tell they were a very organized group,” owner Cenna Vaelli said Thursday. “They were very brazen. It wasn’t just petty theft they were after, they were after bikes so valuable the market would pay well for these bikes.”
“They had been breaking in a lot even before they broke in here,” Vaelli said. “I guess it was just my turn.”
The suspects made off with $38,000 worth of merchandise and caused about $4,000 in damage to the shop's building, Vaeilli said. The bikes were never recovered and the thefts left Vaelli shaken.
“Now, whenever the phone rings, I jump a little bit,” he said. “I guess I have a little bit of PTSD.”
Vaelli is relieved that a statewide grand jury this week indicted those allegedly responsible for the break-in at Cenna’s Custom Cycles and in other bike shops across the metro area.
The grand jury indicted eight individuals on 227 counts for allegedly committing a series of bike shop burglaries, auto thefts and multiple attempted burglaries and thefts stretching from Fraser to the Denver metropolitan and Boulder areas.
The suspects would use a stolen box truck or van and ram it into the front doors or windows of a bicycle shop and steal high-end mountain bikes, according to a news release from Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
Cenna Custom Cycles in Longmont and Redstone Cyclery in Lyons were among six businesses burglarized in Boulder County, according to the news release. Boulder Cycle Sport in Boulder was also targeted.
The indictments, announced this week, involved 29 bike shop burglaries, 22 auto thefts, along with attempted break ins. The value of the stolen vehicles, stolen property and property damage carried out from December 2019 until June 2020 is approximately $1.5 million, according to the news release.
The eight individuals are variously charged with violating Colorado’s felony Organized Crime Control Act, first-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft, second-degree burglary, theft, and criminal mischief — in addition to other charges, the news release states.
The cases were filed in Boulder District Court on Oct. 25, 2021. The defendants are: Kevin Acosta-Larkin, Austin Butler, Gerald Garcia, Maurice Leday, Gregory Melina, Salvador Mena-Barreno, Jason Quijada and Adrian Rocha-Chairez, according to the news release.
The pattern of the burglaries that occurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was consistent, according to the news release. After planning a burglary over Facebook Messenger, the individuals allegedly operated in groups of up to four to steal either a box truck or van and ram it into the front doors or windows of a bicycle shop, or they would break the front windows with large landscaping rocks or other tools, the news release stated.
The defendants then stole high-end mountain bikes — bypassing other types of merchandise and equipment — and transferred the stolen goods to another individual for suspected transport out of the country. They would abandon the vehicle used in the burglary and flee in a second stolen vehicle, the news release stated.
A surveillance video showed, in one burglary, the suspects stole $90,000 worth of bicycles in under five minutes. The defendants targeted some shops repeatedly, the news release stated. Giant Cycle World in Littleton, for example, was hit four times over the course of several months, the news release stated.
Prosecutors have credible evidence the group worked with “fences” — individuals in a criminal enterprise whose role is to resell stolen goods — who moved the bikes out of state and possibly into Mexico, the news release stated. Few bikes were recovered.
The total approximate value of the stolen bikes is $985,000 and the approximate value of the stolen vehicles is $258,000. Total property damage between vehicles and businesses is $231,837, the news release stated.
Auto thefts and property crimes have increased significantly during the last two years, Weiser said in the news release.
“Working with our law enforcement partners, we broke up this multi-layered criminal enterprise that harmed several businesses and nonprofit organizations in the mountain communities and Denver metro and Boulder areas,” Weiser said. “We hold these individuals to account for their actions and harm they caused to the victims and our communities,” Weiser said.
Bike owners told Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty that the break-ins and thefts have caused significant harm to the victims and communities, the news release stated.
“This indictment is the direct result of a united, tireless effort to bring down a multi-jurisdictional theft operation,” Dougherty said in the news release. “The District Attorney’s Office appreciates our strong partnerships with the Boulder Police Department, FBI and the Attorney General’s Office.”
The news release credited the world of the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit, the Boulder District Attorney’s Office, the Boulder Police Department and Boulder Police Detective Ed Burke who helped head up the investigation.
