Thieves no match for this bicyclist

Noaki Schwartz

TRIANGLE SQUARE -- Matt Marshall is sick of people stealing.

So much so that when he saw two men making off with nearly $2,500

worth of North Face jackets from a Triangle Square store Monday, he sped

after them on bicycle. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t his jacket, it

wasn’t his store and up until then it wasn’t even his business. He didn’t

even stop long enough to see whether or not they had guns.

All that mattered was that the Costa Mesa resident saw that the store

clerk wouldn’t be able to catch the two shoplifters, and something

snapped. Marshall has had so many things stolen, he said, that he just

“had it.”

“I’m mad as hell. We’re losing integrity,” said Marshall, 39. “Nobody

cares -- people just turn their heads.”

Marshall was riding down Newport Boulevard at about noon when he saw

the two men in their early 20s speeding down the street on bicycles with

“big bags filled with jackets.”

Quickly assessing the situation, Marshall began riding after the

shoplifters and was able to stop one of them. The other young man was

caught within the hour by an off-duty policeman. They are now in custody,

officials said.

And what did he get for possibly risking his life?

While Marshall didn’t expect to receive mountains of sporting goods

from the upscale camping store, he said he was disappointed at the

lackluster “thanks dude” he got from store officials.

“I didn’t go in expecting anything. I did it for my own [sake],” said

Marshall, who later dropped into the store to make sure the items were

returned.

Employees at North Face refused to respond to a reporter’s questions

about the incident.

Costa Mesa police were quick to applaud Marshall, however.

“I think it’s great,” said Sgt. Scott May. “It’s the duty of any

citizen.”