This post was updated March 13 at 11:54 a.m.
UCPD arrested one person Wednesday evening for grand theft auto after he stole a student’s electronic bike.
The department received a call around 9 p.m., said Jeffrey Chobanian, the acting captain of the department’s administrative bureau, in an emailed statement. Officers arrested the person, who did not have any affiliation with UCLA, putting them into a squad car outside Pauley Pavilion, according to a post on the department’s Instagram.
“The victim spotted the suspect with their stolen bike and confronted them,” UCPD said in a Thursday morning Instagram post. “When the suspect tried to flee, the victim stopped them and kept them in the area until officers arrived.”
Police arrested the 30-year old man around 9:09 p.m. and took him to an LASD facility, with bail set at $110,000, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Inmate Locator website. UCPD previously arrested the man for another misdemeanor in December, according to the website.
Chobanian said in the statement that students are advised to use secure bike locks and are not recommended to intervene with instances of theft.
“Victims should call the police department,” he said. “For their safety, we do not recommend following a suspect, but anyone has the legal right to make a private person’s arrest.”
