Vélo Champ Bike Shop Nearly Broken Into Again

Just days after having its door kicked in and , on Central Avenue has been targeted again.

This time, suspects shook the boarded-up door of the Seminole Heights bicycle shop violently around 10:30 p.m. Thursday. Four suspects were spotted in surveillance footage as they walked around the storefront amidst passing cars before eventually heaving a chunk of asphalt at the front door's window, Tampa Police said. The plexiglass did not shatter, but the alarm was triggered.

"I look forward to doing whatever we have to deter this interest we're getting from thieves," Vélo Champ owner Jordan Miller said Friday. "We can't afford to have bikes stolen and rocks thrown at the windows of this place. They spent about 30 minutes trying to get in here before throwing a rock at the window."

One suspect, seen tugging at the front door of the store on security footage, matches the description of Sunday's perpetrator. Tampa Police are looking for a black male between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10 with a four-inch, flat top haircut, "similar to a Kid 'n Play style," they said. He is described as having a thin build, weighing about 150 to 160 pounds, and was wearing a white tank top and dark shorts.

For Miller, the issue of security is something he is having trouble fully addressing, due to the historical designation of the building where his shop is housed.

"Part of the problem is that we have an odd sized door, so we can't just go to the store and buy a different one, it has to be specially made," Miller said. "The door has been compromised, and we have to have one made now, but what the Architectural Review Commission will allow to be put on this building, we'll have to see. For now, all the bikes are locked up at night, and we have a very comprehensive alarm system, but we've got to add additional lighting and outdoor surveillance as well."

Vélo Champ carries a wide array of bicycles ranging in price from $400 to $5,000. Employees are trained in how to deal with thieves, Miller said, and a dog lives on the premises, but at night the shop has still been susceptible to incident.

Another concern for Miller, a 15-year resident of Seminole Heights, was the lack of response from area residents who passed by during the incidents. With the shops clearly closed and given that it is just days after the last break in, Miller finds it surprising that none of the drivers passing by called the police.

"On the footage you can see that during the course of that 20 minutes, 15 cars went by, and it didn't deter them," Miller said. "Our dog is inside going nuts and 15 people drive by and see four guys messing around outside these shops with no cars around, and yet nobody calls the cops. It's baffling that this many people can drive by and see that and not doing anything. I'm not saying people don't care, but they appear to be blissfully unaware of what's going on right in front of them."

Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to call the Tampa Police Department at 813-231-6130.