ELYRIA, OH — Two men were arrested Thursday morning after they admitted to breaking into Johnny K's Motorsports in Elyria and stealing two dirt bikes valued at more than $16,000, according to the Elyria Police Department and the store's general manager.
Officers responded to multiple alarm activations at the motorcycle dealership, located at 3000 Midway Mall, at approximately 4:16 a.m. When police arrived, they said they found shattered glass at the east entrance and fresh footprints in the snow leading away from the scene.
Johnny K's General Manager, Travis Bell, said his phone rang that morning.
"Panic a little bit. Jumped in the truck and headed down to the store," Bell said.
Police say that the significant snowfall at the time helped officers clearly track the suspects' movements through a wooded area where the stolen dirt bikes were found abandoned. The footprints continued across the water and led to an apartment building in the 1400 block of West River Road North.
Officers say they found two suspects hiding under a staircase inside the apartment building. The suspects were both dressed in dark clothing and wearing ski masks.
"These suspects chose just about the worst possible time to try something like this, a snowstorm doesn't make for clean getaway," Captain Bill Lantz said in a statement. "Our officers made quick work of it and ensured these suspects will answer for their actions."
One suspect later admitted to police that he and the other suspect had broken into the store by smashing the glass door.
Both men were arrested without incident and face identical charges: two counts of theft, breaking and entering, vandalism and obstructing official business. The theft and breaking and entering charges are felonies, while vandalism is a fifth-degree felony and obstructing official business is a second-degree misdemeanor.
The recovered dirt bikes were returned to Johnny K's Motorsports.
"Unfortunately for them, they picked a brand that, the only brand that I know of. You have to factory unlock them, otherwise they go into an undrivable mode and they would have been just paperweights," Bell said.
Both suspects were transported to the Lorain County Jail, with bonds set at $40,000. Both are scheduled to be back in court next week.
