Pair Arrested in Connection with Fairfax Bicycle Thefts

Following a , the police are reporting the arrest of two men they suspect to have been involved in the robberies.

Chad Church, 28, of Guerneville was arrested on attempted grand theft and possession of burglary tools, said Sgt. Stuart Baker. Nicholas Ezinga, 20, of San Rafael was arrested on a probation violation and possession of a hypodermic needle.

Patch originally reported that three bikes were stolen and a fourth theft attempted since June 24. Police, however, are now reporting an additional bike was stolen the middle of this week. Four bikes -- all worth several thousand dollars each -- were stolen in the past week and a fifth theft was attempted of a $4,800 locked bike out of the back of a truck before a witness scared the would-be robber off.

Two of the stolen bikes were locked, one was unlocked and one was stolen from inside . All the thefts occurred during daylight, said police.

On June 30, Fairfax police officers observed two men in downtown who appeared suspicious and who matched the description given by the witness to the attempted theft. A surveillance team was assembled, according to police, which included Chief Chris Morin, and the two men were kept "under continuous observation."

According to Baker, the two men were seen going into and then leaving abruptly. They were watched for nearly an hour as they wandered other residential streets in Fairfax and San Anselmo and went into additional bike stores, including Fairfax Cycler. "They appeared to be casing out stores," said Baker.

After the subjects left Fairfax in a pickup truck, Fairfax police stopped the truck in Ross for a vehicle code violation, where they conducted a probation search of the vehicle and found drug paraphernalia and bolt cutters that matched the description of the bolt cutters used in the attempted theft earlier in the week. The driver was identified by a witness as having been involved in the attempted theft.

The driver, Church, was booked on attempted burglary charges and made bail later that night. The passenger, Ezinga, was booked on probation violation and possession charges and is still being held on a $10,000 bail.

"We're confident that at least one of these guys was involved in the thefts," said Baker, who said he expects additional charges to be added. 

The investigation is still ongoing and anyone with additional information should call the .