The Philadelphia Police Department arrested a pair of 21-year-old men last week who are believed to be connected to a rash of bicycle thefts in August throughout Northwest Philadelphia and Springfield Township in Montgomery County.

The first arrest was made on Sunday, Aug. 27, when West Mt. Airy resident Augustus Hill was taken into custody by Northwest Philadelphia detectives during the service of a search warrant at his home, located on the 6600 block of Musgrave Street. Camden, NJ, resident Jaheim Brown was also arrested by the Philadelphia Police Department the following Wednesday on a warrant obtained by Springfield police detectives, who charged him with multiple burglaries and thefts in Springfield. 

Police in both jurisdictions have been sharing information as they work to crack the case of who’s been breaking into people's garages in both Northwest Philadelphia and Montgomery County and making off with bicycles – sometimes very expensive ones. 

Despite the arrests of Hill and Brown, the investigation is still ongoing. 

“Our detectives have some contacts with the Philadelphia Police,” Springfield Police Chief Michael Pitkow told the Local on Aug. 25. “There’s still an active investigation going on.”

Pitkow could not be reached for follow-up questions about the arrests before the Local’s print deadline. 

Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson Officer Tanya Little confirmed to the Local that Springfield Township and the PPD’s Northwest Detectives were collaborating on the investigation.

Surveillance footage obtained by Springfield Township shows two Black males in their late teens or early 20s entering yards of houses along Patton Road in Wyndmoor during the early morning hours on Aug. 13. It’s unclear if the men in the surveillance footage are Hill and Brown, but they match the Philadelphia police’s description of the suspects.

The first incident in Springfield Township happened on Aug. 10 when three “high-end” bikes were stolen from a garage on Patton Road. The first incident in Philadelphia happened on Aug. 5 when a man reported that his garage was broken into on the 7800 block of Navajo Street before his scooter was stolen. The complainant and the police were able to track down the offender in possession of the scooter on the 100 block of East Price Street with an AirTag that the owner attached to the scooter.

In the second week of August alone, the Springfield Township Police Department said it fielded approximately 12 reports of bike theft. On Aug. 15 alone, five incidents of stolen bikes were reported in the PPD’s 14th police district, which includes Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy and Germantown. 

Most of the thefts occurred in the early morning hours between 3 and 5:30 a.m.

Pitkow encouraged residents to lock cars, lock homes, and get motion sensors, alarm systems and surveillance cameras to protect their property.