You're used to reading (and we're used to writing) about crimes on the mean streets of Santa Ana. Who knew baddies prey on unsuspecting cyclists plying the Santa Ana River Trail? Cyclists know, as does the Santa Ana Police Department, which posted some good news on various bicycling forums recently.
]
During the past two months there have been several robberies on the Santa Ana Riverbed in Santa Ana between 17th Street and Edinger. The robbers mostly target lone riders, usually between 6PM and 8PM. The good news is that on Sunday, February 6th, three of the robbers were caught. We showed their photos to some of the other victims who identified them as being responsible in multiple robberies. SAPD is confident that the primary robbery suspects are in custody. That said, the riverbed borders several gang territories, so riders should use appropriate caution and when possible, ride in pairs during evening hours.
A Santa Ana Police detective reportedly told Examiner.com's LA cycling writer Edward Rubinstein that the busts already resulted in two cyclists being reunited with their ripped-off bikes.
As for future jaunts along gang-adjacent territory, anyone know if Gatling guns attach to handlebars?
Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.