Victim told by CMPD organized bike thefts are on the rise

CHARLOTTE, NC — Thousands of dollars worth of bikes were stolen from an apartment complex in south Charlotte.

According to one of the victims, officers told her stolen bikes have become a big problem in the bike friendly area of South End.

Surveillance video shows someone riding off with Chelsea Cancelliere’s e-bike in the middle of the night.

“It’s very frustrating, especially since it seems like this is kind of the norm,” Cancelliere said.

Cancelliere wasn’t the only resident of The Edge apartments in South End to have something stolen in late February. According to a CMPD incident report, another e-bike, an electric scooter, and a bike battery worth more than $1,000 were all stolen.

“They just knew exactly what they were doing. They had equipment. They had specialized gear,” Cancelliere explained of the thieves.

Cancelliere said CMPD told her crimes like this are happening more often around South End.

“The police said that this is like a common thing, that there’s bikes stolen all the time, that this is highly organized. They know exactly what they’re doing and they know exactly how to sell them, how to avoid police,” said Cancelliere of what was she says was explained to her by police.

We reached out to CMPD about this, they told us no one is available for an interview and they directed us to their Crime Map.

We checked it out and found dozens of thefts in about a quarter mile radius in the area off South Blvd since the start of 2025. It’s unclear how many of those reports are stolen bikes.

Cancelliere said the apartment complex has fixed the lock and a CMPD patrol car is now parked in the parking deck as a deterrent. But she would like her complex to add more cameras.

“At least to help with investigations and help us out to get to the bottom of it faster,” Cancelliere said of why she would like additional security cameras.

An employee with Edge apartments tells WCCB they’ve made some changes but can’t say what.

We followed up with CMPD asking if there is an issue of bike thefts in South End. They have not responded.