Bicycle shop owner hit hard after recent burglary, keeps the faith in East Waco neighborhood

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A group of burglars broke into a fledgling bicycle shop in East Waco and stole most of its high-end merchandise, including its mountain bikes.

Shane Howard is the owner of OTB, which stands for “Over the Bars.” He has only been in business for seven months after moving to Waco from Colorado to set up shop on the banks of the Brazos River.

Howard said the burglary hit him hard, but he still believes in his East Waco neighborhood.

“It will be difficult because that was the last of my mountain bikes and so I have no mountain bikes on the floor and, as a mountain bike shop, that’s frustrating,” Howard said.

The business owner said that, with a nationwide inventory shortage spawned by the pandemic, break-ins like this are common.

He didn’t expect to lose all of his bikes at once, however.

“I can’t replace the bikes with the inventory shortage. It’s not like the insurance company can gut me a check and I can immediately replace those bikes. It will probably be six to eight months, at least, before I’ll see bikes like that again,” Howard said.

The burglars made off with a total of four bikes, some valued at more than $4,000.

Among the stolen mountain bikes were a Kona Process 153, A Kona Process 134, a Kona Hei Hei and a Jamis Durango Hard Tail.

The burglary, captured by a surveillance camera, was pulled off in less than a minute.

“The police are investigating. They have some good prints and the security camera footage so, hopefully, they will get them caught quickly,” Howard said.

Even after the burglary, Howard still loves this East Waco neighborhood and has no reservations about moving here, although he does have plans to make improvements to his security system.

“I really don’t believe these thieves were from this neighborhood. They really knew what they were doing and, obviously, they had done it before and knew what they were after. I have no issues with this area what so ever and I plan on being here as long as I can stay open,” Howard added.

If you know anything about this crime, call Waco Police.

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