WPD: Bike Thief Arrested, Bike Returned Sept. 10

WARWICK, RI — A bike thief intercepted mid-theft by the bicycle owner Sept. 10 returned the bike and was later arrested by Warwick Police near the intersection of Spruce Street and Post Road.

The 26-year-old bike owner, a frequent Warwick Public Library patron at the 600 Sandy Lane Main Branch, was informed by staff during a visit earlier that day that his bike, a green Kent Winslow 7-speed with a basket on front and a milk crate on the rear, worth about $400, was no longer outside the library, according to the report of Officer Amedeo Ucci Jr.

The bike owner stepped outside the library and found a woman, later identified as Erin Marie Hobin, 37, of Warwick, was walking away with his bike. He ran toward and caught up with the bike thief, and demanded that she return the bike. She returned the bike without incident, the man reported, according to the report.

Officers located Hobin near the intersection of Spruce Street and Post Road, and detained in Ucci’s cruiser until the bike owner confirmed she was the thief. Ucci transported Hobin to Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, where she was charged with Larceny under $1,500, and processed for three unrelated Third District Court warrants, then transferred to the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI).