Bike thief caught red handed twice jailed

Lukas Baranowski (33) and an accomplice were seen looking at unattended bikes on Peas Hill in Cambridge city centre on February 13.

A senior officer from the force spotted the pair looking at bikes and pointing out ones of interest.

He called for backup and watched as the pair continued their search of the bikes.

A short while later they huddled over one of them and the other man started to cycle away on it.

Both men were detained by officers before they could get away.

It was not the first time Baranowski had been caught in the act. On August 22 he was caught on an officer’s body worn camera snapping the lock off a bike in Clifton Way, Cambridge.

He was quickly arrested and the bike lock and pliers used to snap it seized.

Baranowski, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to theft of a pedal cycle and attempted theft of a pedal cycle and was sentenced to eight months in prison at Peterborough Crown Court on Thursday.

He was also sentenced for a further offence of breaching a suspended sentence.

PC Dan Scott, who investigated, said: “It is clear Baranowski fancies himself as something of a career criminal when it comes to bike theft and he has no regard for the inconvenience, cost and distress he causes victims.

“I am glad we have managed to catch him in the act and put him behind bars where he belongs.

“Last year we launched a cycle marking scheme in Cambridge in an effort to deter thieves and make it easier to reunite people with their property if it is stolen. As well as this it’s vital people secure their bikes appropriately with at least one good quality lock.”