A potential bike theft was averted Tuesday night as a Muncie man fumbled through an explanation about checking bike locks at LaFollette Complex.
Richard Howell was charged with a class D felony, and his bail was set at $5,000.
Howell was found sitting on a Free Spirit bicycle claiming it was his mother's, according to a probable cause affidavit.
University Police Department officer Travis Stephens said he arrived at the scene a few minutes before 9 p.m. on Tuesday. UPD Cpl. Dave Starkey was the first to arrive, and he was speaking to two subjects when Stephens arrived.
"The story between Richard and his friend did not match up," officer Stephens said.
Witnesses said they watched Howell and Jason Ammonett checking bike racks for a vehicle that wasn't locked. The witnesses told officer Eric Reffitt that they saw Howell take the bike and ride away, according to the affidavit.
Cpl. Starkey met with Howell's mother, and she told the officer that she did not own the purple bike. Instead she showed him the two bikes she does own.
"I completed an interview with Richard where his story continued to change," Stephens said.
At the end of the interview, he placed Howell under arrest, and the man was transported to Delaware County Jail.
Ammonett was not charged.
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