{
  "id": "2023-11-02-cal-state-fullerton-bike-scooter-theft-arrest",
  "slug": "cal-state-fullerton-bike-scooter-theft-arrest-2023-11-02",
  "institution": {
    "name": "California State University, Fullerton",
    "shortName": "CSUF",
    "state": "CA",
    "type": "public-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "Titan Alert",
    "enrollment": 40000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-11-02",
    "type": "theft",
    "cleryCategory": "advisory",
    "headline": "An Apple AirTag Leads CSUF Police to a Travelodge Room Full of Stolen E-Bikes",
    "summary": "CSUF Police [arrested 43-year-old Edgar Martinez Vergara on Thursday, November 2, 2023](https://dailytitan.com/news/csuf-police-arrests-man-for-campus-bike-and-scooter-theft/article_b8bcac72-7c31-11ee-81f7-33261db08372.html), suspected of stealing two e-bikes, a scooter, an electric scooter, and a speed bike from campus. An Apple AirTag one victim had placed on a stolen scooter led officers to a Travelodge on South Euclid Street, where surveillance photos and witness identification led them to Vergara's room. Vergara, who had no affiliation with the university, was booked on one felony count of grand theft and one misdemeanor count of possessing burglary tools.",
    "outcome": "Vergara was booked in Orange County jail on one felony count of grand theft and one misdemeanor count of possessing burglary tools. As of the Friday following his arrest, police had recovered the electric scooter, an e-bike, and the speed bike; a second scooter and a second e-bike remained missing.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    },
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "Reported by the Daily Titan on Monday, November 6, 2023, describing a Thursday, November 2, 2023 arrest",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "CSUF Police arrested a 43-year-old man, Edgar Martinez Vergara, on suspicion of stealing two e-bikes, a scooter, an electric scooter, and a speed bike from campus. Vergara has no affiliation with the university. An Apple AirTag placed on one of the stolen electric scooters by its owner helped officers trace the device to a Travelodge on South Euclid Street. Officers showed surveillance photos of the suspect to witnesses at the hotel, who directed them to the room where Vergara was staying. As of Friday, police had recovered the electric scooter, an e-bike, and a speed bike; a second scooter and a second e-bike remained missing. Vergara was booked into Orange County jail on one felony count of grand theft and one misdemeanor count of possessing burglary tools and was expected to appear in court Monday morning.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://dailytitan.com/news/csuf-police-arrests-man-for-campus-bike-and-scooter-theft/article_b8bcac72-7c31-11ee-81f7-33261db08372.html",
      "sourceDescription": "Daily Titan (Cal State Fullerton student newspaper)",
      "annotations": [
        "The Daily Titan reported the arrest occurred on 'Thursday' with the story published Monday, November 6, 2023, and Vergara expected in court that same Monday, which places the arrest on Thursday, November 2, 2023",
        "The consumer Apple AirTag, rather than any campus security camera or patrol, was the decisive investigative tool, reflecting a broader trend of crime victims using personal tracking devices to recover stolen bikes and scooters documented at other campuses in this archive, including UC Santa Barbara",
        "Only three of five stolen items, an electric scooter, an e-bike, and a speed bike, had been recovered by the time of publication; a second scooter and a second e-bike remained unaccounted for",
        "This is a paraphrase built from the Daily Titan's original reporting; no independent university press release or second news outlet covering this specific arrest could be located in this session, and it is presented as a single-source account with medium confidence accordingly"
      ],
      "characterCount": 820
    }
  ],
  "context": "California State University, Fullerton, a public research university in Orange County, has documented a recurring problem with electric bike and scooter theft on its campus, prompting the CSUF Police Department to run periodic enforcement pushes. In [November 2023, the Daily Titan reported that CSUF Police arrested Edgar Martinez Vergara](https://dailytitan.com/news/csuf-police-arrests-man-for-campus-bike-and-scooter-theft/article_b8bcac72-7c31-11ee-81f7-33261db08372.html), a 43-year-old man with no connection to the university, after a victim's Apple AirTag led investigators to a nearby Travelodge motel room containing several of the stolen items. The case followed an [earlier, separate 2022 arrest of a different repeat bike-theft offender near campus](https://dailytitan.com/news/campus/campus-bicycle-theft-arrest-leads-to-wanted-man/article_f4b2e040-3225-11ed-835a-3b7fa073568f.html), and CSUF Police have continued to report periodic bike and scooter theft arrests in the years since, including a [two-suspect arrest for an attempted e-scooter theft from campus housing in November 2025](https://www.instagram.com/p/DRATqvkD1Lk/), suggesting the underlying problem, rather than any single offender, is persistent.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "A victim-placed Apple AirTag, not campus video surveillance or routine patrol, was the tool that located the suspect, illustrating how consumer tracking technology has become a meaningful part of campus property-crime investigations",
    "The suspect had no university affiliation, consistent with a pattern documented elsewhere in this archive in which off-campus individuals, not students, commit a meaningful share of Clery-reportable campus property crime",
    "Only three of five stolen items were recovered at the time of reporting, showing that even a successful arrest does not guarantee full property recovery",
    "CSUF Police have made multiple, separate bike and scooter theft arrests across several years, suggesting the underlying vulnerability, unsecured bike racks and campus housing areas, persists regardless of individual enforcement actions"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "CSUF police arrests man for campus bike and scooter theft (Daily Titan)",
      "url": "https://dailytitan.com/news/csuf-police-arrests-man-for-campus-bike-and-scooter-theft/article_b8bcac72-7c31-11ee-81f7-33261db08372.html",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "Campus bicycle theft arrest leads to wanted man (Daily Titan)",
      "url": "https://dailytitan.com/news/campus/campus-bicycle-theft-arrest-leads-to-wanted-man/article_f4b2e040-3225-11ed-835a-3b7fa073568f.html",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "theft",
    "bicycle-theft",
    "e-scooter",
    "public-r2",
    "california",
    "arrest-made",
    "airtag",
    "2023"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-07-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-03",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}