Tiburon teen arrested in alleged armed e-bike theft

A 15-year-old Tiburon boy was arrested Oct. 25 after he allegedly stole an electric bicycle at gunpoint from two other kids in Greenbrae.

He was booked that same day into Marin County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and grand theft, though police have found no weapon.

The incident occurred about 11 p.m. Oct. 25 on a multiuse pathway along the Corte Madera Creek near Elizabeth Circle, behind Bon Aire Greenbrae shopping center, according to a press release issued by the Central Marin Police Authority.

Authorities said the boy approached two youths who were talking on a bench and allegedly pointed a handgun with an extended magazine at them, demanding the keys to one of the victim’s electric bicycles.

The suspect allegedly “made criminal threats to kill one of the victims,” according to the release, but he ultimately fled on one of the bikes without harming anyone.

The stolen bike had a tracking device, with authorities saying it had recently been stolen and recovered in an another unrelated incident.

Authorities were able to trace the bicycle to Frances Avenue in Larkspur. An officer spotted a boy fitting the description of the suspect riding the bicycle, who fled on the bike up Murray Lane into Kentfield.

After a short search, the boy was found about midnight riding the bike about two blocks away on Hillcrest Lane near Oak Knoll Road in Kentfield, where he was arrested.

Officers searched the suspect and the area but did not find a gun. Neither did two Petaluma Police Department firearm-detection specialists with trained dogs, nor the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue unit in an “exhaustive” search the next day.

The stolen bike was returned to its owner.

Reach Belvedere, Strawberry and public-safety reporter Naomi Friedland at 415-944-4627. DONATE to support local journalism, or SUBSCRIBE NOW for home delivery and access to the digital replica.

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