Motorcycle Theft Ring Busted; 3 Charged, 50 Felonies, More To Come

Three men have been arrested and charged collectively with 80 felony counts thanks to a Hillsborough County motorcycle theft ring investigation that led to the recovery of 22 bikes from as far away as California.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reports that Joshua Jay Frieman, 29, has been charged with 48 felonies. Also charged are Eric Manes, 22, on 27 counts, and James Raymond Mergl, 19, on five counts.

Additional arrests are pending.

Meanwhile, 12 of the recovered stolen motorcycles will be on display later today, May 26,  at the sheriff’s office’s building on Falkenburg Road in the Greater Brandon area of Tampa. The owners will be on hand to reclaim their motorcycles, which have been issued new VIN numbers from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

In all, some $350,000 worth of property was reported stolen in the investigation. The value of the recovered property was reported at $154,000.

According to the sheriff’s report, the following occurred:

• In January, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s Auto Theft Section identified several individuals involved in motorcycle theft throughout Hillsborough County.
• Motorcycle Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) were being altered and bogus documents were created to obtain titles for the stolen bikes. As noted in the report, “These individuals would present counterfeit certificates of origin and bills of sale to the Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s Office and would subsequently receive official titles for the motorcycles.”
• The bikes were then sold for fair market value on Craigslist to individuals who did not know the bikes were stolen.
• The ring has been linked to about 50 motorcycle thefts “and so far detectives have recovered 22 bikes from as far away as California.”

“The total value of the stolen property is approximately $350,000,” the sheriff’s report concludes. “However, this number does not include the financial loss of the unsuspecting victims who purchased these vehicles from the suspects.”