Two Arrested for Palm Springs Bicycle Theft

PSPD Officers Placed on Quarantine After Being Spit on by COVID-19 Positive Suspect

Palm Springs Roads Closed Due to Kimpton Hotel Bomb Threat Investigation

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – Two suspects, one from Palm Springs and the second, from Carpinteria, were arrested for the theft and possession of two bicycles worth around $12.000.

The theft took place sometime between February 8, 2019, and February 9, 2019. The victim told authorities that two bicycles were stolen from a locked bike rack attached to his vehicle.

On February 11, 2019, at around 8:30 a.m., an officer noticed a male subject in possession of one of the bicycles as he patrolled in the 300 block of S. Calle Encilia. The subject was identified as Jonathan Ochoa, 32, of Palm Springs. Police officers learned that Ochoa was on probation out of Riverside County. The bicycle was retrieved and Ochoa was booked at Smith Correctional Facility for Possession of Stolen Property and Probation Violation.

On February 15, 2019, at around 3:30 p.m., the same officers observed a male subject lying in a field in the 400 block of S. Calle Encilia. The officers made contact with the subject, later identified as Paul Babcock, 23, of Carpinteria. Babcock was identified as the person who may have stolen the bicycles. Babcock told officers where the second bicycle could be located. Babcock was subsequently arrested for Possession of Stolen Property and outstanding warrants from San Bernardino County. Babcock was booked into the Smith Correctional Facility.