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Newmarket boy gifted new BMX bike after brazen theft on Tom Taylor Trail

A York police officer dismayed by the theft rides to the rescue with plan to replace bike
Kim Champion
Kim Champion
20200819 lance and yrp get new bike
Lance, 11, chose a new BMX bike today free of charge after his was stolen in late July 2020. Lance is seen here with his father and grandfather, and BikeSports owner Tom Zielinski. York Regional Police video image

An 11-year-old Newmarket boy will be riding like the wind for the rest of the summer, thanks to a York Regional Police officer who came to the rescue after his brand-new BMX radio bike was stolen.

Lance, who earned the money to buy his “first, real legit bike” in late July by doing chores around the house in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, was riding on the Tom Taylor Trail north of Davis Drive when his bike was stolen right in front of him.

The youngster had stopped to take a break from riding when a 17-year-old boy walked up, saw the bike, hopped on it, and took off, Const. Jennifer Philips said in a video released today on the local force’s social media.

Philips was working the front desk at Newmarket’s #1 District station on Prospect Street when Lance and his grandfather came in to report the theft.

“It was just heartbreaking, you could just tell the grandpa and Lance were so upset that someone had just taken something from him that he had worked so hard to achieve,” Philips said.

The York police officer was moved by the incident and approached the York Regional Police Association and Tom Zielinski, the owner of BikeSports on Main Street where Lance purchased the bike, to hatch a plan to replace the wheels for Lance.

The plan was a success and today the local boy, together with his father and grandfather, chose one of three BMX bikes presented to him free of charge at BikeSports. 

“He can still salvage the rest of the summer to get some biking in,” Philips said.

York police are still looking for the youth who stole the black, 20-inch BMX radio bike. The suspect is described as a white male, 17, with blonde hair and wearing black thick-rimmed glasses.

If you have any information about the theft or the suspect, call York Regional Police at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7141 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) to report a tip anonymously.