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News › Motorcycle Stolen 27 Years Ago Found Unassembled in Basement
How do you get away with stealing a new motorcycle? Disassemble it. Put the parts in three crates and store them in the basement of someone else’s house, never to be seen again. That’s what the Northern Illinois Auto Theft Task Force said Darcy L. Corbin, 55, of Loves Park, did 27 years ago with a then-new 1980 Harley-Davidson.
“I have no idea why someone would keep a stolen motorcycle in storage for that long,” NIATTF Inspector James Kerns said Wednesday. “Obviously, you would want to wait until the heat dies down, but I think after 27 years, the heat is off.”
Twenty-seven years ago this month, a Machesney Park man reported to the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department that his new Harley-Davidson Low Rider had been stolen out of his garage.
Kerns said police recently received an anonymous tip informing them that the stolen motorcycle was at a Machesney Park home.
“We got a consent to search, and agents found the Harley-Davidson disassembled and packaged in the basement,” he said.
Kerns said the motorcycle had been there since 1986. Before that, it was stored in crates in the attic of another Machesney Park home.
Because of the ongoing prosecution, Kerns is not revealing the name of the original owner, but he did say the owner since has died.
The motorcycle, valued at the time at $6,700, will be turned over to the insurance agency that paid out the claim to the owner.
Kerns said he doesn’t know how much the bike would fetch today.
“It’s whatever the market will bear," he said. "It’s a brand-new bike. Someone just has to put it back together. It’s in pristine condition.”
Karl Kegel of Kegel Motorcycle Co. in Cherry Valley said the 1340cc Low Rider was a choice motorcycle when it first hit the streets.
“In 1980, it was probably the most popular bike we had. The styling was something no one had seen before. They were just highly sought after.”
Kegel also said the age of the motorcycle may make it a collector’s item.
“If it’s in pristine condition like he says, it’s only going to go up in value. Harley-Davidsons retain their value pretty well. They depreciate for a while, and then they go back up. It’s probably going to be valued somewhere around $7,000.”
Corbin was charged with unlawful possession of essential motor vehicle parts and destroying the vehicle identification number. He has since bonded out of jail.
Source: Rockford Register
Posted by editor on Thursday, April 12, 2007 (20:02:44) (1094 reads)
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