Penn Police arrested a man whom they called a recurrent campus bike thief Wednesday with the help of a police unit specifically dedicated to reducing this type of crime in University City.
Around 2:05 p.m., a University staff member saw a man using bolt-cutters to attempt to cut through a cable-style bike lock that was being used to secure a bike in the Perelman Quadrangle.
The staff member immediately called police, but the would-be thief had fled the scene.
He left the bike behind, along with its severed lock cable. Because the bike was not registered with Penn Police, officers stationed a security guard at the scene to await the owner's return.
When the bike owner -- a Penn student -- returned about an hour later, police took his statement.
The bike in question was a black Giant mountain bike worth about $150.
Meanwhile, a University Police officer -- who was assigned to a special task force targeting bike thefts -- spotted a man acting suspiciously near a bike rack in the medical-school complex on the southern edge of campus.
The man matched the description from the earlier attempted theft given by the Penn employee. The officer recognized him as William Downey, 30, of the 800 block of North Taylor Street in Philadelphia's Fairmount neighborhood.
The same officer had arrested Downey for bike theft several months earlier. In fact, Penn Police have arrested the suspect numerous times for similar crimes. He was out on bail while awaiting trial in another case.
In response, Penn Police have submitted a "high-bail request" to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office in an attempt to keep the suspect jailed until a trial. Such requests are normally reserved for more serious crimes, but Patrol Captain Joseph Fischer said that given the repetitive nature of the crimes, it was justified in this case.
When police arrested Downey on Wednesday, the suspect was in possession of bolt-cutters, a hammer and pliers.
The staff member who had witnessed the initial attempted theft positively identified Downey as the man she had seen.
Downey is charged with attempted theft and possession of an instrument of crime.
