SEATTLE — The owner of BPA, a bicycle shop in the Belltown neighborhood, has been charged with four counts of trafficking in stolen property.
Eric Patchen was initially arrested in April, after Seattle police detectives investigated him for buying, rebuilding and reselling stolen bicycles.
According to a probable cause document, Patchen has received stolen bicycles and often strips them down to their components before reassembling them into new versions of the bicycles, making each one unique. Police said he then sells the reassembled bicycles from his store.
The document also said Patchen mistyped a serial number of a stolen bicycle into LeadsOnline, a database for reporting the sale of secondhand goods.
The detective wrote in the statement: “Upon seeing the imprinted serial number, I can only conclude it was intentionally mistyped as the number was clear. I also have knowledge that Patchen will only purchase stolen bicycles from specific people that he knows in an effort to insulate himself.”
KIRO 7 interviewed Patchen about these allegations after his initial arrest in April.
He defended himself against the allegations.
"You're going to have hater's out there. I've started this business from scratch and I've worked my tail off, night and day," said Patchen.
No one is accusing Patchen of stealing the bikes -- police say he has someone else do it for him, insulating himself by only buying bikes from a few known thiefs.
He's charged with four counts of trafficking stolen property.
Patchen says some bikes aren't reported stolen until after he's checked the registry and he will fight to clear his name.
KIRO
