West Allis high-wheel bike found damaged; Oklahoma man arrested
WEST ALLIS, Wis. - A unique bike stolen from outside a West Allis bar was recently found – badly damaged.
Video captures a guy nabbing it, crashing it and running away with it.
"It’s absolutely not rideable," said Carl Klinger, the bike theft victim. "It’s not even fixable."
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Those words were not what Klinger expected to hear when West Allis police found his treasured bike.
"When I got there, it was just laying on the ground and it was just completely demolished," he said.
The unique, old-time high-wheel bike was stolen more than two weeks ago as it was parked outside of a bar. Police knew who they were looking for after seeing surveillance video.
Wesley Yoakum was found more than 600 miles away, in Newton County, Missouri.
The 50-year-old Oklahoma man was arrested for outstanding felony warrants. He now faces charges of theft in Milwaukee County.
"It sounds like basically everywhere he goes, he’s causing problems," Klinger said. "From what I heard, he saw himself on the news, got very upset and decided to take it out on the bike before he ran."
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Nearly every part of the bike was damaged. The seat was torn off, the tire bent, even the stitches were torn out of the tool case.
His friends have started a GoFundMe to help him buy a new bike so he can get back to riding again.
"It’s a terrible feeling. What are you supposed to say? I don’t know," Klinger said. "It’s not going to be the same. But it’s going to be better because it’s got the hearts of all the people who actually helped me get another one back in it."
Records show Yoakum’s Oklahoma charges include grand larceny and unauthorized use of a credit card.
