Craigslist victim looking for suspected thief

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A South Florida mother is on a mission to find the man she says ripped off her son's dirt bike.

She claims a bike bandit used Craigslist for a dirty transaction, and this may not be the first time. She and her son spent Thursday handing out flyers with a picture she took of the suspected thief.

Miami-Dade Police are now calling the man in the photo a suspect in not only the robbery of 15-year-old Bryce Arzabe's Suzuki RMZ-450 but also in the theft of the same model bike once belonging to a man who lives in Davie. Daniel Armstrong also had placed an ad on Craigslist for his dirt bike. A man met him in Southwest Miami-Dade to see the bike and drove away with it during a test drive.

A week later, the same thing happened to Arzabe, who lives in Pompano Beach. He and his mother met up with the same man who ripped of Armstrong, also in Southwest Miami-Dade. This time, Arzabe's mother made a gut decision to take pictures of the man before he rode away from the scene, never to return. Now police think these two Craigslist thefts are connected.

Arzabe handed out flyers with the pictures his mother took at a Publix only a few blocks from the scene where the man stole his bike. "I have these flyers," he said. "I'm trying to hand them out just to see if anybody recognizes the guy, trying to get some info on him, so I can try and get my bike back."

He says he fears every day that goes by will make it harder to get his bike back. If you recognize the man seen in the photo, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.

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