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Thief Ditches Motorcycle To Steal SUV, Caught On Video

By Michael Abeyta

THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4)- One couple is hoping security video showing a man riding away from their home on a stolen motorcycle will help lead police to the thief.

Lori Sanchez's husband was in their front yard doing yard work and decided to go inside to get water for their plants. That's all the time the thief needed to walk away with their daughter's new motorcycle.

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(credit: CBS)

"He was in the house literally less than five minutes," said Lori.

Luckily, the Sanchez's home security system caught the whole thing on camera.

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(credit: CBS)

"There was a car that drove around the cul-de-sac of our street that looked like they were looking at our garage," said Lori. "A couple minutes later, a guy came walking up to our car that was actually parked in the driveway trying to get into the car itself and when it was locked and he couldn't… he came into the garage and he took my daughter's bike."

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(credit: CBS)

Police later found the stolen motorcycle. The thief ditched it and tried to steal an SUV. That vehicle's owner saw the suspect inside the SUV and jumped in.

After a struggle, the man wrestled the steering wheel away from the thief as they drove but not before the SUV crashed into some trees.

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(credit: CBS)

The owner of SUV was injured, the vehicle totaled. The thief then got into a third car, perhaps the same one Lori saw earlier, and got away.

Lori said the damage to her motorcycle is minimal, "It looks like he laid it down."

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She feels lucky to have her daughter's motorcycle back with only a few scratches.

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Now she just wants to make sure this man, whoever he is, off the streets, "I just want this guy behind bars."

Michael Abeyta is a 4th generation Coloradan and a Multimedia Journalist for CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 5 & 6. He is on Twitter! Follow him @AbeytaCBS4.

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