Vigilante justice: Man sets up sting to catch bike thief
PORTLAND, Ore. – A local man came face to face with the man who he says stole his bike and tried to sell it on Craigslist, and along with two friends he took matters into his own hands to get it back.
Not only did Jake Gillum drive from Portland to Seattle to get his bike back, but he spent dozens of hours tracking him down and setting a sting operation up.
He locked up his bike in Southeast Portland earlier this month and when he got back it was gone.
Gillum was pretty defeated after his $2,000 Fugi Team bike was stolen from 36th and Hawthorne. But he started searching Craigslist. First in Oregon, then in Washington. Then bingo!
"I was home alone, I started yelling really loud, and I scared the dog," he said upon seeing his bike on Craigslist.
Because of all the nuances, he knew it was his bike listed for sale in Seattle.
"I've got a scratch on my top tube here. I’ve got scratches (on the forks), and I kind of know everything about my bike," he said.
Gillum wanted to call the person who posted that listing, but he didn't want them to be tipped off by his Oregon phone number. So he used the Burner app which changed his area code from a Portland one to a Seattle one.
"The guy the whole time thought I was calling him from Seattle. I couldn't have done this without that," Gillum said.
He convinced the guy to meet him under the guise that Gillum was an interested buyer. And along with two friends they recorded the confrontation.
"You're under citizen's arrest, stop right now!" someone can be heard on the video yelling as the man bolts.
"I thought I was going to throw up. I was really scared. I was very nervous," Gillum said later.
But he was also determined. When the man, who police say is Craig Ackerman, ran, Gillum chased him.
They gave police a heads up, so they swooped in and arrested Ackerman.
"I think that it's a lesson for thieves that they need to be afraid of people like me, because they don't know who they're stealing from, and it’s a lesson for victims that they don't need to lay over and take this," Gillum said.
Ackerman's address is listed in Southeast Portland. Police say he's no longer in jail but no one answered at his home Tuesday.
He is facing a felony charge of trafficking stolen property.
I think anyone who locks up a $2000 bike OUTSIDE is just asking for trouble. You bring that stuff INSIDE. Perhaps he will learn from his mistake. And YES it would be nice if we could leave our nice things outside without the fear of being stolen, but alas we live in the days of thievery and mayhem.
Seeing this video makes me want to steal your bike. What if this dude had turned out to be a real criminal (meth head, ghetto type, etc.). You would have been in a lot of trouble. That was a weak takedown. you didn't think he'd run? You're lucky to be in one piece.
My co-worker purchased some speakers from eBay and had them stolen off his porch. Tracked them down via Craigslist. Photos showed the same defects in the box as the eBay photos. Found out where the guy lived -- turns out he just lived down the street. Co-worker contacted Portland Police, they didn't want to do anything about it, even though he could hand them the entire case, evidence, etc.
When Gillum caught up with the guy he should have beat him  just a little, like $2000 worth , then called for police back up. the justice system is a joke the guy is out of jail already and half way to someplace to steal again. Would love to hear a follow up story on this one K2, how about it , you  up to the task?
I wish I had my stolen bike back; it was a '95 gary fisher marlin with really nice fast tires...stolen off my friends front porch in Eugene during college. Haven't had a nice bike since...
I'd be bummed too if I paid two grand for a 'Fugi' bike. Fuji crap is bad enough, but to end up with a knock off must be really disconcerting.
Wait, citizen's arrest? Way to put a bird on it, Dbag. Some dude stole my wife's purse in Vancouver and I chase him down for a tossin on the spot. Cops don't usually care about your property unless you're a bank or something.
Nice work Jake. Glad you got your bike back and the guy who stole it has been charged. Glad that Seattle PD were involved. In Portland the police would have laughed in your face...well maybe not your face but certainly behind your back.
 @RalphCramden And miss the chance to shoot someone?
 @oodathunkedÂ
Oh yea for sure.
I suspect we are going to see a lot more of this type of victim activism when property crimes happen. The police have bigger fish to fry, and rightly so, but when you are the one who lost something you value, you want it back. I think this is a great story, and a big high five to Mr. Gillum for standing up for his actions. I love it.
Glad the guy got his bike back.
But really KATU? Vigilante Justice? Did you look up the definition?
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Vigilante: : a member of a volunteer committee organized to suppress and punish crime summarily (as when the processes of law are viewed as inadequate); broadly : a self-appointed doer of justice
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All this guy did was find his bike, he did not extract justice or punish the guy. He called the cops and had them there to do that.
 @Owt_RagedÂ
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You're not by chance suggesting that KATU practices sensationalism or trades in any other practice of Yellow Journalism patented by Hearst circa 1900? That would be an outrage!
The only thing missing is the "justice" the headline proclaims. A major beat down was in order for this thief because the reveolving door justice system won't mete out any punishment.
Nice Catch.
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But the thief is already back out of jail. After all the trouble they went through to catch him they just let him out ?
@Vetzero I'd be curious what the local charge in Seattle was. Possession of stolen property up there, but because of stated value of the bike, it would be Theft 1 (felony) in Oregon. Wonder if Oregon will step up and ask for extradition. Probably not, or King County would not have released him. Oh well, life goes on. Glad he got his bike back....if they didn't keep it as evidence.
 @jpk  @Vetzero It was Involuntary Trafficking of a Stolen Item (wording may be slightly different, this is from memory; they based that charge on it being someone else who stole it and he was just reselling it). Of course in a court case evidence could show otherwise. But likely he'll just end up with a fine or something. He did have to sit in jail for a bit since bail was denied.
 @jpk  @Vetzero Whoops, left off that it was a felony.
. I sense this was more about how much the guy loved his bike, and not just the money. My golf clubs were stolen once, and when I replaced them the new set was "better", but I never loved them like I did the stolen set. Â People fall in love with inanimate objects sometimes. I'm glad he took the bull by the horns. Thieves are rotten to the core!
 @Philip Marlowe You're absolutely right - he loves that bike.
This is old news. This was on all the local radio stations last week. C'mon KATU, at least post current news that is less than 24 hours old.
 @theobserver It couldn't have been all over the radio stations last week - this just happened on August 11 (Saturday).
 @theobserver This is the first I've heard of this story and I think it is worth running again, even if I had already heard it. Sounds to me like you have way too much time on your hands, if this is all you have to is complain about repeat stories. 24 hrs? I didn't realize there was a time limit on good news. I enjoyed the story ! Keep up the good work KATU
Gillum will probably be charged with wire-fraud for spoofing the caller-ID, and get a harsher punishment than the thief.
@al_02 I don't think that will happen as they had notified the cops they were setting up the sting. I am surprized the cops allowed them to confront the thief though. But I do understand your frustration with the legal system...