The Day I Witnessed a Crime and My Friend’s Bike Was Stolen

I had always heard stories about Eugene being a crime-ridden town. However, during my first three years at the University of Oregon, the worst I had encountered were bike scraps and the occasional homeless man screaming in an alley. I had never been a victim of crime or experienced it up close—until one fateful Sunday.

It started off like any other Sunday—I slept in. I had plans to meet my friend Craig at the rec fields to play soccer that morning. But when I walked outside to grab my bike, I couldn’t find it. That’s when I noticed the broken lock lying on the sidewalk. The worst part? It wasn’t even my bike—I was borrowing my friend’s because mine had a broken axle. Typically, I parked my bike outside my apartment complex without any issues. Apparently, no one had ever bothered to steal it because it was a piece of junk. In fact, I often saw other people’s bikes missing or in pieces while mine remained untouched.

This time, though, I had made the foolish mistake of locking up Matt’s $300 bike outside my apartment. Sure enough, it was stolen.

I ended up walking to the rec fields. Craig was already there when I arrived. We started kicking the ball into the net. Then, all of a sudden, Craig noticed his gym bag was missing. He frantically started looking around for it. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a random person walking down the street carrying his bag. He chased after him and snatched it back. According to Craig, the guy acted senile.

Not long after, we heard shouting from across the rec field. A ragged-looking man was running across the field, with a kid chasing him and yelling, “Stop him!” and “He’s got my wallet!” The man ran across the street toward the quad area—then, out of nowhere, a police officer drove onto the grass, jumped out of the car, and tackled him to the ground.

I looked at Craig, and we decided to call it a day.