Photo: Albert Morales
January 21, 2021 – Ventura County, Ca.
With today’s average cost of a bicycle running at well over $500 (www.bicycleuniverse.com), casually pedaling off with someone else’s ride is no longer a minor criminal infraction.
This was amply demonstrated on January 20th with the arrests of 41-year-old Fillmore resident Albert Morales and his alleged partner in crime, 37-year-old transient Phillip Davison.
hot bike
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Detective Shawn Pewsey, the two men had
been the subject of an ongoing investigation into a rash of bicycle thefts when they were contacted by Fillmore detectives on the morning of the 20th.
It was just after 8:00 a.m. when the cops showed up at Morales’ front door and took him into custody on an outstanding felony arrest warrant, found Davison inside the house as well as “several bicycles believed to have been stolen.”
A brief inventory of the bicycles “linked one of the bicycles to a Fillmore resident” which had been reported stolen in October, 2020.
The ensuing investigation into the matter quickly helped detectives determine that Davison was indeed an active bicycle thief.
Both Morales and Davison were taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail, where Morales was booked on his outstanding warrant with his bail set at $50,000, and Davison was charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance and for multiple counts of petty theft.
Photos: Courtesy Ventura County Jail, Fillmore Police Department
