A stolen mountain bike and an alleged fence warehouse in a garden shed: These are the ingredients for an investigation by the Gautingen police that lasted several weeks and has now led to initial results.
Everything was set in motion by a 39-year-old man from Gilching, as the head of the Gautingen police station, Andreas Ruch, announced on Friday.
Gauting / Gilching - The man filed a complaint with the police station in Germering on September 29 after he noticed on the same day that his mountain bike worth 750 euros had been stolen from an underground car park in Gilching. Two days later he could hardly believe his eyes: he discovered his bike on the Ebay classifieds website - with photos offered for sale. On the same day at 6 p.m. he made an appointment with the seller who lives in Gauting via the Ebay chat function - and informed the Gauting police.
Instead of the 39-year-old, a civil patrol appeared at the agreed location. At the agreed time, a 27-year-old woman from Gauting also appeared with the stolen mountain bike. The bike was clearly identified by the frame number. "Regarding the origin of the mountain bike, the woman stated that she fetched it from a garden shed at her home address," explained Ruch. In the hut there were five more mountain bikes, some of them high-quality, some also e-bikes.
Ruch: "The Gilchinger's bicycle was immediately seized, and the completely perplexed woman was then confronted with the charge of stolen goods because she had offered a stolen bicycle for sale." another five mountain bikes from the garden shed and transported them to the Gautinger Wache. There, however, the case took an unexpected turn.
In her interrogation, the 27-year-old stated that her boyfriend repeatedly repaired bicycles in the garden shed and then sold them. The friend, who is also 27 years old, could not be found that evening because he was on his way to Italy. "When the Gauting police officers reached him by phone, he immediately turned around and appeared at the Gauting inspection shortly before midnight," reports Ruch.
There the 27-year-old was able to present purchase contracts for the five secured bicycles from the garden shed. As for the 39-year-old Gilchinger's mountain bike, he stated that he had bought it from a man from Germering - the Gautinger could not have known that it was this man who had stolen it earlier in Gilching. Ruch: "The Gautinger was able to give credible assurance that he had acquired the mountain bike in good faith." Now the rightful owner, 39-year-old Gilchinger, was allowed to take it back with him after consulting the public prosecutor.
After evaluating the 27-year-old's laptops and cell phone, the five mountain bikes from the garden shed were given back to him in the meantime, as he had demonstrably acquired them legally.
"The initial suspicion or the hope of the Gauting police was unfortunately not fulfilled that they caught a supposedly big fish with the couple from Gauting on October 1st," says Ruch.
"This is a very cycling affine, well-behaved man," said the inspector about the 27-year-old.
The investigation against the bicycle thief from Germering, a 29-year-old man, has not yet been concluded.
Immediately after the fact, he sold the mountain bike stolen in Gilching to Gautinger for 350 euros - also via eBay classifieds.
