COSTA MESA : 150 Bicycles Seized; Dealer Arrested

Police arrested a Costa Mesa bicycle dealer Thursday and seized about 150 bicycles from his house.

Raymond Wesley Engelhardt, 56, who was arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property, was being held in Orange County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Sgt. Mike Millington said police sent an investigator to the house in the 2000 block of State Street after receiving an anonymous tip that a man was buying and selling stolen bicycles.

Officer Chano Camarillo arrested the suspect after identifying a single bicycle reported stolen in Newport Beach recently, Millington said.

As neighbors watched, officers and a city crew wheeled the 150 bicycles out of a stucco house that Engelhardt shared with a brother. The bicycles were then loaded onto a truck and taken away by police.

Millington said police plan to compile a list of serial numbers to determine whether any have been reported stolen.

“We intend to go through this one with a fine-tooth comb,” Millington said.

Engelhardt’s neighbors expressed shock over his arrest, saying he had been a legitimate bicycle dealer for more than 25 years.

“His livelihood has always been buying and selling and fixing bikes,” said Fred Nattrass, 81, who lives near Engelhardt.