8 People Charged For Allegedly Stealing $1 Million Worth Of Bikes

Eight people are facing charges for allegedly stealing nearly $1 million worth of high-end bicycles from shops in the Denver metro area, KDVR reported Wednesday (November 17).

Altogether, these suspects are facing 227 total counts, ranging from theft to burglary:

• Kevin Acosta-Larkin
• Austin Butler
• Gerald Garcia
• Maurice Leday
• Gregory Melina
• Salvador Mena-Barreno
• Jason Quijada
• Adrian Rocha-Chairez

The suspects are accused of targeting 29 bike shops and committing 22 auto thefts between December 2019 and June 2020, according to reporters. The indictment claims the group used Facebook Messenger to plan their crimes and used stolen box trucks to break into bike shops. Prosecutors say the stolen bikes would be sold to other individuals out of state.

The group allegedly stole $985,000 worthy of bicycles, $258,000 worth of vehicles and caused $231,837 worth of property damage, the news station learned.

“A million dollars isn’t even scratching the surface in my opinion. I would guess there’s a lot more that’s happened beyond that we’ve never even gotten to the bottom of,” Justin Mattison told KDVR. Mattison was named as a victim in the indictment after his bike shop was burglarized in April 2020.

He continued, "As far as bikes go, it’s always been thought of as like a recreation, but for a lot of people in the state of Colorado, it’s their livelihood, it’s their passion, it’s what makes them who they are. And when somebody steals that away from them, it sucks."