Yesterday, a Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) officer recovered stolen bicycles, worth over $15,000, during a traffic stop. The incident occurred when an officer pulled over a blue SUV with a defective brake light on Santa Rosa Avenue's 1900-block, as later posted on SRPD's Facebook page.
The officer stopped the vehicle, driven by 45-year-old Sebastopol resident, Shan Titman. The officer saw three high-value bicycles in the rear of the SUV and suspected they were stolen, prompting a further investigation. The officer was not knowing yet that this routine traffic stop would turn into an important investigation.
During the investigation, a dispatcher from SRPD Communications Center contacted the officer about a recent theft report involving three expensive bicycles. After hearing this, the officer grew more suspicious of Titman and the bicycles he had.
The victim of the burglary, a resident of Los Alamos Road, had reported a forced entry into her garage and theft of her bicycles. Recognizing her own bicycles from Titman's vehicle, she could positively identify them as her stolen property.
Shan Titman was then arrested and booked for felony possession of stolen property and felony burglary.
