Christopher Beistline’s motorcycle is his prized possession. So, when he walked outside his Lakeland apartment complex Feb. 9 and realized his motorcycle was gone, he was furious.
“I look in the spot, and I'm like 'you gotta be kidding me,' and I just started freaking out,” Beistline said.
Beistline called police and then started printing hundreds of flyers to blanket across Lakeland. He posted photos of his motorcycle on his Facebook page and hoped someone would find his stolen bike. Then a break in the case. The next day he got a call from Miami police. They arrested Reynier Bendoyro-Navarro. Police say he was riding Beistline’s stolen bike. After he bonded out of jail Navarro was arrested again by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
According to a release, deputies said a citizen called 911 to report Navarro and two other men with a U-haul inside his neighbor’s carport looking at a motorcycle.
The report says once the suspects realized they were detected and they “took off in the U-Haul. Deputies could see the men throwing motorcycle gear out of the window as the truck moved down the road.”
Lakeland police said they have seen an increase in motorcycle thefts but would not comment further on their active investigation.
Beistline said the thieves did $7,000 damage to his bike. He is a disabled veteran on a fixed income and is now saving up to get his bike fixed.
“To hear him say I've got your motorcycle and it is all in one piece I was like thank God you know,” Beistline said. “But, it is going to cost me out of pocket to fix it, and they should pay for it.”
With criminals cruising around in U-Haul trucks, Beistline said he is double locking his motorcycle and brining it in doors until he can buy a home with a garage.
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