LAFAYETTE, La. ( KLFY ) — A rash of electric bike thefts has put the Lafayette biking community on alert.
E-bike sellers and users have both fallen victim to the crime this week. One store owner even caught a thief on surveillance video, stealing an e-bike in broad daylight.
“It’s too much. Just too much that people have that much gall and nerve to just take something that doesn’t belong to them from a nice shop that is just trying to provide a service,” said Gerri Simon, owner of E-Bikes Plus .
“This is a mom and pop business,” Simon said. “This is not a big corporation. You stole from us. We can’t get reimbursed from anybody. It’s part of our livelihood.”
The stolen bike is valued at nearly $3,000.
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Eric Cerna was one of those people.
“I hear my name being screamed like somebody was getting mugged. Apparently it was me. I just didn’t know it,” Cerna said.
The day after the burglary at the e-bike shop, someone stole his electric bike during his shift at a restaurant on Ambassador Caffrey Parkway. It was Eric’s main form of transportation. It was how he got to work, how he’s lost weight and how he’s helped his family.
“My mom is not doing so hot. With both her and my stepfather being really close to passing, it’s just been grind time,” Cerna said.
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Meanwhile, Simon is on extra alert. Another one of her customers reported that their electric bike was stolen from their apartment in Lafayette.
Simon said it seems like there may be a small ring of people committing the thefts.
“If you took this bike, just remember we worked hard for it and you should too,” Simon added.
The Lafayette Police Department did confirm they are investigating, but they do not believe that the two thefts are related.
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