Don’t You Dare Ride A Stolen Citi Bike Through The NYPD’s 62nd Precinct

A man was arrested early this morning after riding a stolen Citi Bike through Bensonhurst.

Officers from the 62nd Precinct were on patrol when they noticed Anthony Francesca, 45, running a red light on a Citi Bike on 19th Avenue near 75th Street, according to the NYPD. After pulling Francesca over, cops checked the bike number and discovered that it had been last docked on April 11 on the corner of West Street and Chambers Street in Manhattan, and was past due.

Police didn’t buy Francesca’s explanation about coming across the stolen bike by accident.

“He claims that he found it at 18th Avenue and tried to return it, but no one answered the Citi Bike number,” said 62nd Precinct Commanding Officer Captain William Taylor.

Francesca was taken into custody by Officer Michael Polizzi at 4:51am and was charged with possession of stolen property and a vehicle and traffic law violation.

Stolen and abandoned Citi Bikes are frequently recovered by police, though they rarely wind up in Southern Brooklyn, Taylor told us.

The thing about riding a stolen Citi Bike, is that it is pretty easy to get caught. See what happened to one poor sucker who tried to give his stolen wheels a bad paint job before riding it through Flushing, Queens.

So, if you come across an abandoned Citi Bike, do not ride it, or you will probably be arrested. Instead, call 1-855-BIKE-311 to have Citi Bike come pick it up. Though our friends at Gothamist note that the list of abandoned/stolen Citi Bikes is so long that it may take a while for them to show up.