Good news: Thefts of Divvy bikes is slowing. Bad news: Woman pepper-sprayed, robbed of Divvy bike

October 21, 2018 9:30 PM CWBChicago Citywide
Keshawna Davidson is charged with armed robbery of a Divvy bike. | CPD; Motivate

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Know what I mean?

Chicago police have now arrested more than 200 adults for possessing stolen Divvy bikes since thefts of the bike share service’s baby blue rides began to skyrocket in mid-June. The thefts have slowed over the past few weeks as Divvy replaced a key piece of hardware on their bike docking stations.

But now, for the first time, we’ve learned of a Divvy patron being physically robbed of their bike while pedaling the streets of Chicago.

Around 3 p.m. on Oct. 14th, a 31-year-old West Town woman told police that she was pepper-sprayed, battered, and robbed of her Divvy bike as she rode it in the 400 block of North Wood, about four blocks from her home.

Police said they were called around the same time by a 20-year-old woman who reported that a woman and a man battered her and tried to steal her cell phone in the same neighborhood.

Cops searched the area and one of them quickly noticed a Divvy bike sitting unattended in the vestibule of the McDonald’s at 23 North Western. Inside the restaurant, officers saw 18-year-old Keshawna Davidson and a male companion who matched the descriptions of the phone and Divvy robbers.

Both robbery victims were brought to the restaurant where they identified Davidson. She was arrested and has been charged with Class X felony armed robbery and felony attempted robbery. Judge Sophia Atcherson ordered her held without bail. The male companion was not charged.

Joshua Thomas

Here’s an interesting bit of trivia: The bike involved in Davidson’s alleged robbery was also stolen from a Divvy bike rack on August 18th. Chicago police arrested Joshua H. Thomas for riding the stolen bike in the 800 block of North Rush Street later the same day. Cops returned the bike to Divvy. Thomas was eventually sentenced to two days in jail.

CWBChicago expects to have a comprehensive update on the Divvy bike theft crisis in the coming days. In the meantime, here’s another collection of social media photos showing apparently stolen Divvy bikes in the wild:

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About CWBChicago 4358 Articles
CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets.
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