Mill Valley Man Accused of Stealing $7,000 Mountain Bike

A Mill Valley man stole a $7,000 Yeti mountain bike from a car bike rack near downtown Tuesday afternoon, but he didn’t exactly make a clean getaway, police said.

David Edward Alhorn, 19, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly stealing the pricey mountain bike from atop a car parked at Corte Madera Ave. and Lower Alcatraz Place at around 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to Mill Valley Police Sgt. Paul Wrapp. The bike’s owner had finished a ride and went inside a friend’s house there to change clothes for about 5 minutes, only to return to find the bike gone, Wrapp said.

But Alhorn didn’t make it very far, police said. After taking a report from the bike’s owner, officer Scott Brooks drove toward downtown, only to spot a man riding a black Yeti mountain bike near at Corte Madera and Throckmorton avenues. Brooks detained Alhorn and had the bike’s owner identify the bike, Wrapp said.

Alhorn was charged with grand theft and possession of stolen property with a value of more than $200, both felonies, as well as a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Deputy District Attorney Kevin O'Hara.

Alhorn, a resident of West Blithedale Ave., remains in custody at Marin County Jail on $10,000 bail and has retained San Rafael defense attorney Gary Kaufman. He pleaded not guilty to all charges Thursday and heads back to court Dev. 27 for a preliminary hearing.

“It’s rare to catch somebody like this close to the scene,” Wrapp said. “Property crimes have been up in general over the past couple of months, and in Mill Valley that often means expensive bikes.”