Thieves steal bikes designed for adults and children with disabilities
Police are looking for thieves who broke into a storage facility in Indio this past weekend and stole more than a dozen bicycles designed for adults and children with disabilities.
The thieves took almost all the equipment inside, now, the non-profit, Desert Ability Center, is left inoperable and they’re asking for the communities help.
“If you have any bit of remorse or any bit of heart, turn it back in. Turn it back, turn it back in, in the middle of the night to the police station just like you did when you stole it from the facility. We really need it. We’re pleading to you to return the equipment,” said Letitia Collins, the secretary for the organization.
Letitia Collins is hoping her message gets to these thieves. The equipment stolen is worth nearly $25,000.
“It was done in the middle of the night so you can’t see their faces, just their silhouettes,” Collins said.
Collins said they were seen driving this van.
They then hopped a fence into the storage unit, broke through a lock and took 20 specialty bikes, tires, and helmets, all designed for people with disabilities. All the equipment belonged to the non-profit.
“We provide these pieces of equipment at no charge. We let them take them home ride them as they please. If it’s a child, they can take it home until they outgrow it. So it really negatively affects our program,” Collins said.
A program that Collins says changed her life.
“In a period of 24 hours, I went from being able-bodied to being in a hospital unable to move or feel anything from the waist down,” Collins said. “My only source of activity was physical therapy, so connecting with Desert Ability Center provided me with an avenue to become social, to have physical activity and have a freedom I didn’t have for a long time after being confined to a wheelchair.”
“And it makes me sad that someone else might not be able to experience that,” Collins added.
The DAC’s services reach thousands of people here locally and across Riverside County. They’re hoping to replace their equipment by October, you can learn more about the program and how to help here.
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