A Gainesville man was charged with trying to steal multiple bicycles Monday night in an apartment complex off 34th Street.
Chadrick Smith, 40, was arrested at about 11:30 p.m. at Museum Walk Apartments on charges of loitering and prowling, according to an arrest report.
While walking his dog in an apartment complex located at 3500 SW 19th Ave., a tenant saw a man tampering with the locks of bikes along a bike rack. There was a wire cutter next to the man, according to the arrest report.
The tenant walked up to his apartment and called 911.
GPD arrived at the scene and saw Smith walking in front of the bike racks.
The officer asked Smith if he lived in the complex, and Smith said he was just walking through. Smith told the officer he walked from two different directions. He then volunteered to be searched. The officers found a bike light and two pairs of gloves.
After examining the bikes on the bike rack, GPD saw two cable locks that had been tampered with. One of the officers said they looked as if they had been cut, and he found red metal wire cutters in the bushes by the rack.
The witness came out and identified Smith as the person he saw with the wire cutter.
Smith was taken to the Alachua County Jail and was still in custody as of Tuesday night.
Contact Adrianna Paidas at apaidas@alligator.org.
