Multiple bike thefts solved by GPD, with more charges likely

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Marty John Thomas, Jr., 32, was arrested on April 22 and charged with stealing a bicycle from an apartment complex; since that date, Gainesville Police Department officers have identified him as a suspect in more bicycle theft cases, and more charges are likely.

One case involved a bicycle stolen on March 19. The owner of the bike saw Thomas with the bike a few weeks later and called it in to law enforcement, and Thomas was apprehended. According to one arrest report, Thomas is a “well-known bike thief to both Gainesville Police Department and University of Florida Police Department,” so officers began looking at surveillance video and witness reports for other bicycle thefts in the area of the university, along with pawn shop records, and they have now charged him with seven felonies and three misdemeanors.

Several of the bicycles were stolen from locked bicycle enclosures at apartment complexes, and Thomas used various methods to extract the bicycles, including reaching through a tear in a fence to open the gate from the inside.

Thomas is being held on a total of $87,000 bail over the various cases.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.