Quick thinking from employees at a bike shop in Golden led to the arrest of a man suspected of running a multi-county bike theft scam on Tuesday.
On Monday, a man came into the Golden Bike Shop to purchase a bicycle, telling workers his “dad” would pay for it over the phone with his credit card.
"That's not necessarily unusual," explained the shop's manager, Clay Donovan. "Sometimes we have Mine student's parents call in and make purchases for him. But something seemed off - he seemed too old to have Dad pay for him."
Employees also recalled a similar recent scam in Boulder County but allowed the sale to happen -- telling the buyer that the bike needed some repairs and he would need to return the following day to pick it up.
"One of our sales staff, a new employee formally worked at another bike shop - he recognized the guy's MO and his name - they had been ripped off in a similar way in January," Donovan said.
Workers at the bike shop then decided to call Golden Police who were able to identify bike buyer as Michael John Mancuso, 28, who was wanted on several felony warrants from at least three other counties.
"So they set up a sting," Donovan said. "They put an undercover detective here on the shop floor, had units up and down the block."
He said that once everything was set up, his employee called Mancuso. The employee apologized for the delay and told him the bike was all set and ready to go.
When Mancuso came back to Golden Bike Shop to pick up his bike the next day, a detective shouted freeze, according to Donovan.
That was when Mancuso took off on foot -- ultimately tripping and falling on concrete.
"The waiting was a little nerve-wracking," Donovan said. "Not because we were afraid of any danger, but because we really wanted to catch the guy and we were afraid he'd run off."
He was taken into custody immediately and is being held at the Jefferson County Jail.
Mancuso was wanted on felony warrants in Jefferson County, Boulder County, Lakewood and Clear Creek County.
He is also the suspect in multiple other similar cases throughout the metro area - and one in Idaho Springs. He'll be charged on Thursday with theft, identity theft and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device -- all felonies.
"If you're the kind of person who's had your bike stolen in the past and I don't think you can ride bikes for very long without having one stolen at some point in your life," Donovan said, "watching that guy faceplant into the parking lot gives you a little bit of closure."
