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Crime & Safety

UPDATED: North Shore Bike Thieves Nabbed

Kenneth Robertson, 31, and Gilberto Torres, 53, were arrested on Friday, following a several-week investigation by Wilmette and Winnetka Police.

Wilmette Police arrested two Chicago men on June 24 for the theft of more than two dozen bicycles, according to a report released Tuesday.

Kenneth Robertson, 31, and Gilberto Torres, 53, have been charged with two counts of felony theft and one count of possession of burglary tools for allegedly stealing more than 25 high-end bicycles, as well as frames. Their arrest comes after several weeks of investigation conducted by Wilmette and Winnetka detectives.

Authorities were tipped off to the alleged thieves after Winnetka Police recorded Robertson and Torres' license plate as suspicious persons earlier this month.

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Wilmette Officer Landon Girard spotted Robertson and Torres' car in the Wilmette Metra parking lot Friday. Detectives then followed and observed the duo allegedly steal bikes from a commuter lot in Glencoe and in the 500 block of Green Bay Road in Winnetka. In the second incident, the two men used a cordless grinder to break a bike lock, a theft method commonly used during the recent spike in area bike thefts, according to Wilmette Police.

"Detectives [then] followed the suspects into Chicago where they were taken into custody without incident. Wilmette and Winnetka Detectives conducted three consent searches of storage lockers tied to Robertson and Torres, recovering over 25 high end bicycles and frames," according to the statement from Wilmette Commander Kyle Murphy.

Find out what's happening in Wilmette-Kenilworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The men were held in Wilmette lock-up over the weekend and taken to bond court at the Skokie Courthouse on Monday. They will return to court on July 12 in room 105 at 1:30 p.m.

Police said they have have notified several victims, and will continue to try to identify more.

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