SACRAMENTO—A response by Sacramento Regional Transit officers on Tuesday, December 23 at approximately 5:45 p.m. to an electronic tracking system, which showed that a “bait bike” placed near Capitol Avenue and 30th Street began to move, led to the arrest of a 33-year-old Sacramento man.
Officers found Jason Hasher, in possession of the bait bike at Alhambra Boulevard and N Street, police said. He was arrested on suspicion of grand theft, possession of burglary tools and possession of stolen property. Hasher had been arrested less that three weeks prior on charges of possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia, and a failure to appear in court warrant. Oddly enough, Hasher claimed a residence in Mankato Minnesota, where he apparently has family, when arrested this week. He had claimed the Union Gospel Mission in Sacramento as his home for the prior arrest. He also claimed as a transient in Sacramento when arrested twice in 2011.
Geroge Totten, tattooed and tattooing, image from Facebook.
The next day at 3:43 a.m., officers responded to the theft of a bait bike from the area of Capitol Avenue and 28th Street. Police rushed to the area and arrested George Totten, 49, in the area of 27th Street and N Street. Totten was found to be in possession of the bicycle and was booked for violation of probation and suspicion of grand theft, possession of burglary tools and possession of stolen property.
Totten is also listed as a transient of Sacramento, but his Facebook page shows his Harley Davidson motorcycle as his “home”. He is a prolific and talented tattoo artist for a business he calls Golden Eagle Tattoo, and also lives or works out of Santa Barbara. He was previously arrested on May 7 this year for possession of stolen property, burglar’s tools, a controlled substance and paraphernalia, and a concealed dirk or dagger. That was followed by a July 25 arrest for receiving or concealing stolen property, resisting or obstructing and officer, and failure to obey an officer.
High priced “bait bikes” are left as tempting targets for thieves.
Bait bikes are equipped with electronic tracking systems. When a criminal cuts the lock on a bait bike and begins to ride away, police dispatch is alerted and officers swoop in on the thief. More than 50 arrests have been made by the Sacramento Police Department in connection with the midtown Bait Bike Program. The program is a component of a more comprehensive bicycle theft and education program.
Bicycles valued at more than $1,000 face value have been added to the program, addressing a legal detail that some thieves may be unaware of. Stolen property worth more than $900 allows accusers to pursue felony charges, rather than misdemeanors as specified under the new Proposition 47 guidelines.
