Frustrations are running high after a smash-and-grab burglary at a Massachusetts motorbike store - one police say may be tied to other break-ins in the eastern part of the state and southern New Hampshire.
Surveillance video shows thieves back up a U-Haul van, smashing the front doors of North Reading Motorsports. Several people move in trying to steal dirt bikes. They got away with two. It took only a few minutes.
"They hit it with a force. They wanted in," said Fred Spinazolla of North Reading Motorsports.
Spinazolla still cannot get over what happened.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
“Got here and it was gut-wrenching,” he said.
Around 3:30 a.m. Saturday a North Reading police officer on patrol caught the break-in on Main Street. He saw a man driving away in a U-Haul van and turns out the van was also stolen. The officer tried to stop the van but it took off.
"Those two motorcycles that were stolen belong to two people and they were sold. They had just arrived we’d been waiting forever and these people were really excited," said Spinazolla.
Local
In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area.
The bikes were ordered from Japan and cost around $10,000 each. Spinazolla said the thieves clearly knew what they were after.
“They know what they’re shopping for. They’ve shopped they know exactly what they want and that’s what they’re targeting,” said Spinazolla
About a half an hour earlier the same group was caught casing Cycles 128 in Beverly.
“It’s very frustrating,” said Randy Pawlyk of Cycles 128.
Thieves tried to get into Cycles 128 three times last summer. The first time they got away with three bikes. The business upgraded its security and the thieves have not been successful since. The video shows them driving away on Saturday.
"Some of the bikes wind up on the streets some of the bikes for the most part get shipped,” said Pawlyk. “The same gang we’ve been working with the state and local police.”
Police say six men were involved in this latest case. Investigators think the group is connected to similar break-ins in the eastern part of the state and southern New Hampshire.
“They know what they are doing they had it all orchestrated,” said Spinazolla.
North Reading Motorsports is a family-owned business dating back almost 50 years. Especially while recovering from the pandemic, they said did not need to deal with this.
“To have that ripped away from us is heart-wrenching,” said Spinazolla.
Police found one of the stolen bikes in Lawrence. It was in a SUV connected to the crime.
