Daytime theft of bicycle caught on video

Police are hoping to identify a man caught on camera stealing a bike in broad daylight late last month in the Huntington area.

The theft was captured on the bike owner’s security camera. The video shows an individual wearing a backpack casually walking up to the home and then a few seconds later getting on the bike and riding away through the backyard.

When the video was posted to a neighborhood Facebook group and on Nextdoor.com, it turned out the man with the backpack was already familiar to some in the area. In addition to bike theft, residents of multiple neighborhoods around the Huntington Metro station said he had been spotted tampering with mailboxes and attempting to steal another bike.

Multiple pictures of the man were taken by different residents.

The Fairfax County Police are investigating but were unable to provide additional details on the case earlier this week. They did say that no arrest has been made.

The allegations of mailbox tampering have also led to the United States Postal Inspection Service opening its own case. Any residents with information about the suspect are asked to contact Postal Inspector John Boker at 703-280-7214.

The Huntington resident whose bicycle was stolen said that beyond losing the bike, he was particularly alarmed by how brazen the man’s actions were.

“He’s obviously there to do bad things,” said the resident, who asked to remain anonymous. “You don’t normally see that.”